MEN’S HOOPS Four Is More Than Hoyas Can Take Sweetney’s 30 and 20 Not Enough Against ND By Mike Hume Hoya Staff Writer
Charles Nailen/The Hoya Notre Dame freshman forward Chris Thomas scores two of his 22 points against Georgetown on Saturday. His 60 minutes in the quadruple overtime was a school record.
The Hoyas simply had no luck against the Irish. After missing last possession shots to end regulation and each of the first three overtimes, Georgetown finally relented in the waning moments of the fourth overtime.
In the fourth overtime of the highest scoring and longest game in Big East history, junior guard Matt Carroll scored seven of his career-high 30 points to lead the Fighting Irish over the doggedly persistent Hoyas 116-111 before 14,698 exhausted fans at MCI Center Saturday.
The victory extends Notre Dame’s win-streak to five and could jeopardize Georgetown’s NCAA Tournament hopes.
Georgetown (14-8, 5-5 Big East) had the last possession at the end of regulation and the first three overtimes, but failed to convert on any of the four opportunities. Senior guard Kevin Braswell hit a three-pointer with 0.6 seconds remaining in the third overtime, but officials waved off the basket after it failed to beat the shot clock. Braswell called the game “the worst of my life,” after the loss.
He missed three potential game-winning shots. His layup attempt was blocked at the end of regulation, and he missed two three-pointers at the end of the first and second overtimes.
Junior forward Wesley Wilson and sophomore forward Mike Sweetney turned in the best games of their collegiate careers, each posting career highs in points, but the Hoyas never seemed to come up with the big shot when they needed it most.
Carroll, however, broke the Hoyas’ backs with a crucial three-pointer in the fourth overtime to extend the Irish’s lead to 112-108, and then converted four of six free throws following a layup by Braswell to seal the Irish’s marathon victory.
“He loves to play in this building,” Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey said of Carroll at MCI Center. Brey said that the game was the best in his coaching career, surpassing even the Duke-Kentucky game in 1992 when Christian Laettner’s buzzer beater propelled Duke into the Final Four. He was an assistant coach for Duke at the time.
Foul trouble largely shaped the outcome of the game. Four of Georgetown’s starting five fouled out over the course of the four overtimes, including Sweetney and Braswell midway through the fourth extra frame.
Freshman guard Tony Bethel, playing with four fouls was the only starter left on the court at the end of the game. Notre Dame’s Ryan Humphrey picked up his fourth foul with 13:39 left in the second half but stayed in the game adding 13 more points and hitting several clutch free-throws at the end of the game.
Notre Dame shot an outstanding 58-percent in the first half, at one point pulling ahead by 12, the largest lead of the game, before the Hoyas cut it to 48-43 just before halftime on a last second tip-in by Gerald Riley.
Riley hit a crucial three-pointer with 2:15 left in the third overtime, trimming the five point Irish lead to two. Bethel tied the game at 102 with two foul shots, sending the game to its final period.
With momentum on their side in the fourth overtime, the Hoyas opened a three-point lead after a dunk by freshman forward Harvey Thomas. But on the ensuing Notre Dame possession, Humphrey drew Sweetney’s fifth foul and converted both free throws to trim Georgetown’s lead to 108-107. A basket by freshman point guard Chris Thomas 30 seconds later gave the Irish the lead for good.
Its bench depleted after starters Sweetney, Braswell, Wilson and Riley fouled out, the youthful Georgetown lineup consisting of three freshman (Bethel, Thomas and Drew Hall), junior walk-on Trent Hillier and sophomore forward Omari Faulkner, who averaged 4.8 minutes all of last season, could not stay ahead of Notre Dame.
After the game, Esherick said that he has never had that lineup on the court before – not even in practice.
Chris Thomas nearly finished with a triple-double for Notre Dame. Playing all 60 minutes, Thomas scored 22 points, while tallying 12 assists and eight rebounds.
“We’re past Freshman of the Year now,” Brey said of Thomas’ talent. “We’re looking at one of the best guards in the country.”
The 60 minutes of playing time pushes the freshman’s average over 40 minutes a game.
“Everybody played on pure emotion,” Thomas said. “I can hardly stand up right now. I can’t really feel my legs. My feet were blue. I’ll take it though.”
For Georgetown, Sweetney posted career highs in rebounds with 20 and minutes played with 49 in addition to his new high mark in scoring.
“He’s a scary talent,” Brey said of Georgetown’s primary scoring threat.
Despite its disadvantage in size, Notre Dame did manage to outrebound Georgetown, 64-54. The 64 rebounds by the Irish was a Big East record. It is also the longest game ever for Notre Dame and the longest in Big East history. Georgetown played in a four-overtime non-conference game 48 years ago. Two years ago the Hoyas won a triple-overtime game against Virginia in the NIT.
“I don’t think I’ve been involved in a crazier game than this one,” Esherick said. “This is my first four-overtime game and I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy.”
The longest game ever played by two collegiate teams is a seven-overtime contest won by Cincinnati 75-73 over Bradley in 1981.
Georgetown will now have to collect itself for tonight’s matchup against Seton Hall. A loss will likely relegate Georgetown to the NIT for the fourth season in five years.
“We have to get ready to play on Tuesday,” Esherick said. “This is something we have to get over.”
Tip-off against the Pirates will be at 8 p.m. tonight at Continental Airlines Arena.