LITTLE ROCK — It just kept going and going and ...
Only 142 people showed up to see Skidmore play Southern Vermont, most of them friends and family members of the players who were eager to start a Thanksgiving break.
Little did they know they would see a game like only two others in NCAA men’s basketball history - a seven-overtime marathon.
Skidmore beat Southern Vermont 128-123 on Tuesday night, the longest game ever played at the men’s Division III level.
“By the end,” Skidmore Coach Joe Burke told The Associated Press in a telephone interview, “it was complete exhaustion.”
The game was tied at 59-59 after regulation, and both teams were just getting started. The previous Division III longevity mark had been five overtimes, something that had happened four times according to NCAA records.
Southern Vermont’s LanceSpratling played all 75 minutes, one of several records the teams set.
“He’s an incredible athlete,” Burke said. “He still had some pop in his step at the end.
Unbelievable.”
And to think the game - in Bennington, Vt., had morerebounds than fans.
The teams combined for 166 rebounds, 42 more than in any other Division III game in history and an NCAA all-division record - besting the 152 set by Indiana and Michigan in 1961.
John Mantas scored 27 points for Skidmore, which got tying shots near the end of four different overtime periods.
Melvis Langyintuo tied it at 67-67 for the Thoroughbreds (2-1), of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., with a free throw with 1 second left in the first overtime. Jeff Altimar’s jumper with 10 seconds left in the third overtime knotted the score at 84-84, Terron Victoria’s layup with 3 ticks remaining in the fourth overtime extended the game again, and Eli Johnston hit a three-pointer with 10 seconds left in the sixth extra session to pull Skidmore into a 112-112 tie.
“It’s funny. The whole time, as overtime kept going, I just kept saying to them, ‘Enjoy the moment,’ ” said Burke, who once played in a four-overtime high school championship game. “By the sixth overtime, they got sick of me saying it.” Useless
Los Angeles Lakers Coach PhilJackson to ESPN.com, on his view of NBA rookies: “We like them as people, it’s just that they’re inexperienced ... and have no purpose on earth.” He keeps going ...
Joe Paterno, 83, says he will be back at Penn State next year.
“Makes sense,” wrote Janice Hough of leftcoastsportsbabe.com. “He’s the only one who can translate his original playbook without using the Rosetta Stone.” Headlines
From the satirical sports website sportspickle.com: “Eva Longoria drops Tony Parker, scanning waiver wire for available point guards”
And from theonion.com: “Several NFL teams look into firing Wade Phillips to inspire players”
Also from theonion.com: “NFL sends thousands of volunteers to help clean up NFC West”Quote of the day
“It’s nothing like my mom’s cooking, but
Thanksgiving dinner is
Thanksgiving dinner.
I’ll eat it if I’m hungry enough.” Arkansas defensive end Tenarius Wright on missing out on a meal cooked from home
Sports, Pages 26 on 11/25/2010