Notre Dame outlasted Louisville 104-101 in an epic regular-season Big East basketball game that went five overtimes before a winner was finally decided Saturday in South Bend in what turned out to be the longest game in conference history.
The Fighting Irish trailed the Cardinals in most of the overtime periods and only led for around five of the extra 25 minutes. Notre Dame led the final two minutes of the last overtime and managed to hang on for the win.
The lengthy game was a familiar feeling for Notre Dame head coach Mike Brey. Brey was in his second season coaching the Irish when they beat Georgetown 116-111 in four overtimes on Feb. 9, 2002 — exactly 11 years earlier.
Notre Dame and Louisville were tied at 60 after regulation, so nearly two-thirds of the scoring took place in the overtime periods.
Notre Dame guard Eric Atkins was the iron man for the game. He played 60 of the possible 65 minutes and scored 14 points. Louisville forward Chase Behanan led both teams with a career-high 30 points and 15 rebounds.
Here is a summary of the key plays at the end of each period that resulted in the game going five overtimes:
End of regulation
– ND’s Jerian Grant completed a three-point play to tie it at 60
– UL’s Gorgui Dieng lost a pass inside leading to the OT period
First overtime
– ND’s Pat Connaughton’s free throws tied it at 68 with 1:41 left
– UL’s Russ Smith bricked a long-range 3-point attempt to send it to double OT
Second overtime
– ND’s Cameron Biedscheid ties game with 3-pointer with 17 seconds left
– UL’s Smith misses layup, Behanan misses tip
Third overtime
– ND’s Garrick Sherman’s lay in puts ND up 83-82 with 33 seconds left
– UL’s Behanan makes 1 of 2 free throws to tie it
Fourth overtime
– ND’s Sherman makes tip-in with 5.1 seconds left
Fifth overtime
– UL’s Smith loses ball, misses wild shot at buzzer
The fans celebrated the victory by rushing the floor at the Joyce Center:
