With 13 minutes left in regulation in last Saturday’s game against rival Notre Dame, Fighting Irish power forward Ryan Humphrey collected his fourth foul, with the game tied at 61. Throughout the rest of the game, Georgetown Head Coach Craig Esherick instructed his team to pound the ball inside, trying to draw the final foul on Humphrey.
At the time, what Esherick and his staff didn’t know was that it wasn’t 13 minutes of basketball left?it was 33. And Ryan Humphrey never drew that fifth foul.
“I have never been in a crazier game,” said Esherick minutes after Georgetown’s 116-111 loss in one of the longest games in Big East history?a four overtime classic that broke conference records for both teams and several individual players. “There are so many points I could discuss, so many times when the game swung one way. All I know is, we played our hearts out,” he said.
Notre Dame Head Coach Mike Brey echoed Esherick, “I have never been involved in a better game. There were so many turning points and challenges, I’m confused on what to talk about.”
Notre Dame was in control of the game for much of regulation, riding the incredible play of first-year point guard Chris Thomas, who set a Big East record by playing all 60 minutes. Thomas drained a jumper over Hoya first-year Drew Hall with 5:49 remaining in the first half to push the Irish lead to 36-28. Irish swingman Matt Caroll, who finished with 30 points on the afternoon, including five of nine from beyond the arc, buried two three pointers within the last three minutes of the first half, putting Notre Dame up 48-43.
With 11:30 remaining in regulation, the Irish had pushed their lead to 72-63, but junior center Wesley Wilson responded with an eight-foot jumper. His shot was part of a 26-point effort, his career high for a Big East game.
With 10:09 remaining, first-year Harvey Thomas swatted an ND shot, and Hall got the ball in the open court, feeding it to fellow first-year Tony Bethel for a three from the corner. Following a jumper by junior Courtland Freeman, the Hoyas cut it to 74-72. Notre Dame got their margin back to four, but with 7:29 left, Hall buried a three from the corner and drew the foul for the four-point play.
Sweetney, usually the most consistent Hoya down the stretch in close games, missed four straight shots in the last several minutes, including one with the game tied at 84. Georgetown played its best defense of the season in the last minute of regulation, not allowing ND any open looks.
In the first overtime, ND jumped to a 88-84 lead, but Braswell, who had missed a coast-to-coast effort for the final basket at the end of regulation, completed one with 1:37 remaining to tie the game again. At the end of the first overtime, Braswell had the ball in his hands again, but missed on his drive. Wilson grabbed the rebound, but couldn’t convert.
In the second overtime, Georgetown continued to play solidly on the glass. The Hoyas recorded 54 rebounds on the day, including 18 offensive; Notre Dame tied a Big East single game record with 64 boards, including 22 on the offensive side.
“The last time we lost to Georgetown, they just killed us on the boards,” said Brey in reference to the Hoyas’ 83-73 win on Jan. 21.
“From that game on, we knew our defensive key was boxing out. We had won five in a row coming in here, and we knew especially facing Georgetown, to win, you have to box out. Bodies are always flying in these games,” Brey said.
In the second overtime, bodies did fly. A hard foul by ND forward Harold Swangan dazed Freeman, who was down on the court for nearly a minute. Sophomore Gerald Riley subbed in for the junior, and he buried two free throws to put Georgetown up, 97-95. This advantage was quickly erased by a Humphrey jumper from outside the paint. Humphrey finished with 23 points and 14 rebounds.
The Hoyas got the ball back with 18 seconds remaining in the period, and Braswell brought it upcourt. He swung around the perimeter and finally launched a three-pointer, which missed.
The third overtime saw the same scenario: At the end with the shot clock slightly ahead of the game clock, the Hoyas regained possession. This time, Riley almost played the hero, but he bobbled the ball before launching up a miss. Braswell grabbed the rebound and launched a long three, which swished in a split second after the shot clock expired, resulting in a violation. The game was going to a fourth overtime.
The fourth overtime came in with a bang?a thundering dunk by Thomas that put the Hoyas up 108-105?and ended with a whimper, when Sweetney fouled out with 2:20 remaining. Four of Georgetown’s five starters fouled out during the course of the game. Notre Dame shot 27-39 from the line.
“Humphrey made big free throws throughout this game, and their shooters were coming up big,” said Esherick. “This is a tough one, this game. They gutted it, but I don’t think anyone on the court gave up. Notre Dame just made better plays down the stretch.”
With Sweetney and Wilson out, and Humphrey still sitting on four fouls, the Irish took over, using a jumper by Chris Thomas and another three-pointer by Caroll to take a 112-108 lead. Braswell floated one in the lane to cut the game to 112-110, and Bethel was fouled on the next Hoya possession. Converting one of two shots, he ran the game to 112-111. Then Braswell fouled out, leaving Hall, Bethel, Thomas, junior guard Trenton Hillier and sophomore forward Omari Faulkner on the court for the Hoyas .
“I have never used that line-up together ever, in a game or practice situation,” said Esherick.
Without much experience on the court for Georgetown, ND was finally able to put the game away, 116-111. The loss dropped the Hoyas to 5-5 in the Big East, 14-8 overall, and moved the Irish to 7-3 in the Big East, 17-6 overall. Four of ND’s players recorded double-doubles, including Thomas, who finished with 22 points and 12 assists.
“Thomas played just a great game,” said Esherick. “I think Kevin did as well. To play point guard in a game like this, you have to be playing great.”
“I think Chris Thomas proved today that he is one of the great guards in the league,” said Brey. “You can’t call him a freshman anymore.”
The Hoyas rebounded from the loss with a 84-77 victory over Seton Hall on Tuesday night, getting all five starters into double figures. Braswell led the Hoyas with 19 points, 10 of which were scored within the last five minutes. Georgetown overcame a 10-point halftime defecit to move themselves to 6-5 in Big East play.
At the end of the epic battle with Notre Dame, Mike Brey, tie undone and hair mussed, was leaving the MCI Center, when an NCAA official walked by him.
“Hey Tommy,” Brey called out. “See you at the tournament?” He laughed.
“A couple more like that one, and I guess I will,” replied the man.
A couple more like this one, and Hoya fans will not be seeing Tommy anytime in March.
