First came a 1,580-mile round trip for the Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage, followed by 2,144 miles to and from Philadelphia for a victory over Saint Joseph's, then a 273-mile quickie to Boston for a game against Connecticut at TD Banknorth Garden yesterday afternoon.
Finally, there will be a 2,260-mile flight back to Spokane, Wash., before the Gonzaga Bulldogs can say they are home. As far as the Zags are concerned, every mile and minute was worth it after a tense 85-82 victory over UConn in the opening game of The Hartford Hall of Fame Showcase.
"It's been a tough couple of days," said Gonzaga coach Mark Few. "We were able to go into Philadelphia against St. Joe's in their bandbox and dig out a win. Then we were able to dig out a win here in UConn territory. I couldn't be more pleased."
Not pleased - not surprisingly - was UConn coach Jim Calhoun, who was agitated most of the afternoon, mostly with his team, but he did pick up a technical foul, too. His lips were pressed together during the postgame press conference as he said more than once he didn't want to speak about his team.
"We couldn't stop anybody," said Calhoun. "We'd make three good plays, then three bad ones. I don't have a comment on any single UConn player. [Former UConn star and current Celtic] Ray Allen wanted to talk to them after the game. I let him, but I couldn't listen."
In the first half, the Bulldogs looked as if they left their legs in Alaska, as UConn forged leads as high as 10 points. The advantage was 9 with five minutes left in the half. Point guard A.J. Price, who led UConn with 22 points, was on the bench with two fouls. He was missed, as Gonzaga cut into the lead and then finally took a 1-point advantage at halftime on a 3-pointer by David Pendergraft.
The lead changed hands eight times in the second half and there were five ties. Following the less-than-four-minute timeout, Gonzaga point guard Jeremy Pargo drove hard to the basket and scored against Hasheem Thabeet, UConn's 7-foot-3-inch center, to give the Bulldogs a 76-75 lead. They never trailed again.
"Our coaches always say the most aggressive guy wins," said Pargo. "That's what I try to do."
Pargo's foul-line jumper with 1:42 left gave Gonzaga a 79-76 lead, and the Bulldogs kept the lead safe by making most of their free throws.
Gonzaga's standout freshman, forward Austin Daye, son of former Celtic and UCLA player Darren Daye, hit three freebies in the final 15 seconds. "My dad and me practice free throws together all the time," he said, snapping his cellphone shut after trying to reach his father. "We set up all the pressure situations. I've shot big free throws in high school, too."
He did miss one foul shot with 4.2 seconds left, which left UConn with one last chance, but Price's 25-footer was off the mark.
Gonzaga is now 7-1, ranked No. 19, and heading home for a meeting with sixth-ranked Washington State. The victory left Few feeling pretty good.
"We went from Alaska back to Spokane for about 48 hours and we've been all up and down the East Coast," he said. "Even to take the basketball away, this was an awesome, awesome experience for our program. Hall of Famers like Marques Haynes and Wayne Embry milling around in the lobby. Calvin Murphy. We've never been to New England before. This is an awesome city with so much character and to be able to get the team around and show them Fenway and Boston Garden. Obviously, when you top it off with a great win, this is a big-time trip to get our guys here."
Joe Sullivan can be reached at jtsullivan@globe.com.
