…but
the game was far from over.
Replays
revealed that the ball was still in Devendorf’s hand as time expired. That was the beginning of what would become an
instant classic between these two rivals.
Early on, it had the makings of a close one as neither team really had
control of the first half. The largest
lead any team held was five points, after SU’s Andy Rautins knocked down a trey
from the outside. But the Huskies
battled back and recaptured the lead and led 37-34 at the half.
Connecticut
led as it shot over fifty percent from the field and got eleven points from
both A.J. Price and Stanley Robinson.
Head coach Jim Calhoun was not expecting that production from Robinson
who only averages six points a game. But
the forward had a huge impact on the game with his length and slashing ability.
In
the second half, Syracuse went six minutes without scoring a basket. Yet it only trailed by four when Johnny Flynn
scored with just over twelve minutes to go in regulation. With just under eight minutes left, Rautins
drained another three-pointer to help SU seize control of the game with the
score 54-51.
Syracuse
held the lead, going up by as many as seven with the clock ticking down. But the Huskies made the first of many
comebacks, scratching their way to a tie as guard Kemba Walker scooped up a
loose ball and layed it in with under two seconds remaining. Then Devendorf’s miraculous three at the
buzzer was waived off.
At
this point, the Orange was led by Devendorf and Flynn who had nineteen and
seventeen points respectively. But SU
couldn’t keep Robinson quite as he again scored eleven points in the second
half for a total of 22. Also, driving
the lane was hazardous as co-Big East Player of the Year Hasheem Thabeet controlled
the paint. The Tanzanian center ended
regulation with thirteen points, fourteen rebounds, and five blocks.
The
fans at the Garden were excited to see overtime, but they never would’ve
guessed they’d see six of them. In the
first, UConn built a four point lead with less than two minutes left. Rautins though, let one fly from downtown and
drained it to bring SU to within one.
After a Robinson free throw made it a two point game, Flynn drove down
the court, into the lane, and dished it off to Rick Jackson who slammed it home
to knot it up at 81. Walker’s heave from
half court clanked off the back iron and fell harmlessly to the floor for the
Huskies.
Walker
though hit a jumper to begin the second overtime, but Jackson had another jam
to tie the game for the ‘Cuse. The
Orange lost Kristof Ongenaet as he fouled out, but SU held off the Huskies’
last second attempts to send the game into a third overtime.
Prior
to this game, the only other Big East Tournament game to last this long was in
1981. That’s when the Orange defeated
Villanova 83-80 in triple overtime to win the Big East Championship. But this one was just getting started. UConn held six point leads at two occasions
in this extra period. With two minutes
left, SU battled back. Paul Harris, who
spent a lot of time next to head coach Jim Boeheim during regulation, made two
straight baskets to make it a one possession game. Price missed a free throw, which opened the
door again for the Orange and Rautins took advantage. Coming off a screen, the Jamesville-DeWitt
grad buried a three from NBA range to tie it at 98. The Huskies though had time to get two shots
off, but neither went down.
Price,
who missed the first shot in those final seconds of the previous OT, scored
four points in the fourth extra period.
But it wasn’t enough as Devendorf’s layup tied the game again at 104
apiece. No team scored for about the
final two minutes of that overtime, but the closing seconds were frenetic. Rautins took down the board, dished to Flynn
in transition who drew the attention of UConn defenders. He then found Harris waiting on the baseline
who took a giant step, one dribble, and then went up for the game winning
lay-up. Off the glass and no good, then
Harris grabbed the rebound and had his shot blocked and the buzzer sounded.
Once
again, Price scored four points in the fifth overtime to give UConn a four
point advantage. But his counterpart
Flynn was up to the task. The sophomore
scored all six of SU’s points in the period, including clutch free throws with
twenty seconds left to even the score at 110-all. The Huskies’ Jeff Adrien had a clean look on
the baseline, but his off-balanced jumper bounced off the rim and Kemba Walker
fell in a heap as yet another overtime awaited.
A
familiar pattern developed over all these overtimes. Connecticut would win the opening tip and
score the first basket to take the lead.
But every time it seemed the Huskies had delivered the knockout punch,
the Orange regained its footing and countered with body blows of its own. Syracuse never held a lead in the first five
overtimes. But that all changed as
Rautins curled in and used a screen to tickle the twine and give the ‘Cuse its
first lead in the opening seconds of the sixth overtime.
The
Orange would not give up the lead as Harris scored ten points in the period to
get Syracuse over the hump. Harris ended
up with 29 points and 22 rebounds for the game, but 22 of those points came in
the extra sessions. He missed a number
of easy layups, but came up big in what would eventually be the final overtime.
Some other observations
from Syracuse’s 127-117(6 OT) win over Connecticut:
· This is the game every
Orange fan has been waiting for. While
no one could imagine it coming in six overtimes, SU finally showed the one
quality it seemed to be lacking. Heart. When the Orange was down by six points in
overtime, it seemed like it was over.
But SU just kept playing and doing whatever it took to win. Tonight was the night this group of players
really became a team.
· What more can be said
about Johnny Flynn? With the bright
lights shining, Flynn’s been absolutely brilliant. He played 67 minutes out of a possible 70,
scoring 34 points and dishing out 11 assists for his second consecutive
double-double in as many nights.
· Syracuse shot 40-of-51
from the charity stripe in this game.
Flynn made all sixteen of his attempts.
Talk about clutch. With the game on the line and fatigue setting in, the
Orange knocked down the freebies.
· How about Kris Joseph
and Justin Thomas coming off the bench cold and making an effort to help in the
victory. It was truly a sight to see and
a something Thomas probably thought never would happen in his wildest
dreams. Playing against UConn in a Big
East Tournament game at Madison Square Garden.
Syracuse (25-8) has
won six games in a row. Now it tries to
get some rest before it faces West Virginia in the Big East semi-finals. Game time is set for 9 p.m. on ESPN.