Gonzaga Makes a Refreshing Trip East
BOSTON – Gonzaga should come east more often, if the past few days are any indication.
The Bulldogs came east for two games, and neither was going to be easy. They leave with two wins, the latter an 85-82 decision against Connecticut in the Hall of Fame Showcase on Saturday. But it seems they also left feeling better than they already were.
When it was all over, the road-weary Bulldogs clearly felt like this trip couldn’t be beat. It wasn’t easy, but this is a team known for not doing anything easy and especially when it comes to non-conference play. They have a tough non-conference schedule again, but this portion of it was especially challenging.
The Bulldogs were in Spokane for about two days after coming home from the Great Alaska Shootout, then had to head clear across the country for two games. They pulled out an overtime win at Saint Joseph’s, which isn’t easy, on Thursday night, then came to Boston for what was essentially a Connecticut home game. With the prior game going to overtime, getting here wasn’t easy, but they made it and had a productive stay besides picking up the win.
“We’re all gassed – I remember arriving, I was tired, everybody was tired, they were like, ‘oh gosh’, then those kids just woke us up,” said sophomore guard Matt Bouldin, referring to the team’s visit to a community center the day before. “They’re just running around and we’re playing with them. It was a great time. We all signed autographs and they were happy to see us.”
Besides the community activity, the Bulldogs also enjoyed the presence of several Hall of Famers at Saturday’s game, as well as playing in the Boston Garden. Few raved about the city, as his team has never been to New England before as a group. The non-basketball aspects really added to the experience for them, and they all felt it was nice to have them for a little break in the action.
Saturday’s game had some big points for this team, one that is only going to get stronger before long. They had to weather an early storm from the Huskies, who were shooting the ball much better than usual in the early going and got the Bulldogs in an early hole. Twice, the Huskies led by 10, and still led by nine with just over five minutes to go in the first half. But the Bulldogs rallied late and took the lead at the half on a buzzer-beating three-pointer by David Pendergraft.
The second half was tight throughout, but the Bulldogs made the plays they needed to in the final minutes. When these two teams first met back in the West regional final in 1999, the Bulldogs were the upstart and the Huskies the more established team en route to their national title. This time around, you almost got the sense that the Bulldogs were the established power and played like they’ve been there before.
All along, junior guard Jeremy Pargo was a major key. Playing arguably his best game of the year, he had by far his best game shooting the ball en route to a game-high 23 points, and he added five assists with no turnovers. Junior Micah Downs, one of many weapons on this team, wasted no time describing Pargo as “the best point guard in the country,” and Pargo’s backcourt mate knows how important he is as well.
“He’s our leader on the floor, he runs this team,” said Bouldin, who scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half. “If he keeps doing that, he keeps shooting the ball well, he’s going to have a great year and we’re going to win a lot of games. If he plays well, usually this team’s playing well.”
The Bulldogs look solid now, but they’re only going to get better. Around the holidays, they expect to get back injured big man Josh Heytvelt and shooting guard Steven Gray. Heytvelt is a West Coast Player of the Year-caliber player, while Gray will give them one more shooter. The Bulldogs are already 6-1 and look strong and deep, so adding two more good players will only make them more dangerous.
“Nobody in the country has that right now,” said Few. “We’ve got a Christmas present coming at some point in two really, really good players.”
Right now, the Bulldogs have a solid eight-man rotation. Downs played 36 minutes off the bench Saturday and will continue to be a key reserve, while redshirt sophomore Larry Gurganious and freshman Robert Sacre are good reserves. Sacre didn’t put up big numbers on Saturday, but he was a positive factor when he was on the floor.
The question with players returning from injury, especially a prior starter like Heytvelt, is the chemistry. To this point, the Bulldogs have played a certain way without the two injured players, and while there is concern about how players will take to a change in roles, the bigger concern is likely to be with how the players mesh on the court. Heytvelt hasn’t been with the team since late last season, so they’ve played without him for a while. The players aren’t worried about how this will go, instead being happy to have them back and knowing it will make this already deep team even deeper and tougher to beat.
“We have a great team right now, and we’ll have an even better team when they get back,” said freshman forward Austin Daye, the team’s leading scorer and the son of a former Boston Celtic.
As the Bulldogs continue their challenging non-conference slate, the trip to Boston will certainly help them. They survived a tough road game and pulled out what was essentially another one, and continue to win without two good players they will soon get back. It’s all a sign that this team may be poised to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament.
