If you've never heard of the Southern Vermont Mountaineers or Skidmore Thoroughbreds, you aren't alone. The two relatively obscure Division III teams did something Tuesday night that had never been done at their level -- and had happened just twice in NCAA history. The two teams battled for seven overtimes.
The previous record for Division III was five overtimes. According to a press release from Skidmore, Cincinnati and Bradley (Division I) equaled the total of seven OTs in 1981, as did Yankton and Black Hills (Division II) in 1956. No other men's college basketball games have ever lasted so long.
The final score was 128-123 with Skidmore coming out on top.
"Words are hard to describe what I just witnessed," Skidmore coach Joe Burke said to the school's website. "It was completely a battle of wills and both teams refused to give in. We won the game but really there are no losers in a game like that. Both teams played 'til complete exhaustion.
"I kept telling the guys as each overtime passed to really enjoy the moment. They will never be involved in anything like that in their lives again, I kept telling them, 'This is fun, isn't it?' But by the 6th overtime, I think that wore out."
As one would expect, the final box score was quite entertaining. Skidmore attempted 117 shots to Southern Vermont's 113. Skidmore was 13-of-49 from 3-point range, while the Mountaineeers were just 6-of-25. The teams combined for 70 fouls, with nearly an even split (36 to 34, Skidmore) and 103 free throws were attempted. Taeshon Johnson of Southern Vermont was the leading scorer with 39 points, while teammate Lance Spratling poured in 31 (of course, he was just 10-of-40 from the floor). Southern Vermont's Ben Naaktgeboren pulled down 28 boards, while Skidmore's Melvis Langyintuo had 21 of his own.
Spratling logged the most court time, playing 75 minutes. Four Southern Vermont players were on the floor for more than 60 minutes, while Gerard O'Shea (66 minutes) played the most minutes for Skidmore.
Just 142 people were in attendance for the historic game.
Surprisingly, the teams played a game that was polar opposite to last season's matchup between the two -- a game in which Skidmore embarrassed Southern Vermont by 52 in regulation.
November 24 2010 Last updated at 12:19 AM ET
Skidmore Beats Southern Vermont in Seven Overtimes, Ties NCAA Record
By Matt Snyder
College Sports Editor
Read More: 7+OT, 7+overtimes, seven+OT, seven+overtimes, skidmore, southern+vermont, southern+vermont+skidmore+seven+overtimes
- 1Comments
- Say Something »
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
It seems that anything over OT, everyone wins there are no losers in the game...IMHO. My most memorable game ended in triple OT, only reason we lost was in all the excitement the timekeeper forgot to flip the automatic buzzer at the beginning of the third OT. We played about two minutes into quad OT when the game was called with us losing out by three or four points. I've played alot of amature (sic) recreational ball in my time, but none will be most remembered as the triple OT game.
I know players from both teams will always regard this game as a game that will always be remembered as "that game" we won in OT...(pause) 7 OVERTIME......hahahahahaha CONGRATULATIONS to all players on this special game.