Fighting Irish fight for 4 hours in historic basketball game

Published On February 10, 2013 | By Tyler Scionti

The Notre Dame Irish and the Louisville Cardinals played a thrilling (and exhausting) 3 hour and 40 minute marathon of a basketball game that sadly only counts as one game for the two rivals, not two.

The Irish came out on top, topping the Cardinals 104-101 after playing through five overtimes. The game marks the longest regular season game in Big East history, it truly was a sight to see—especially if you stuck around for the whole thing. Head coach Mike Brey had a great deal to say after the game, especially about the unusually high score.

“We got over 100 because we played an extra game,” head coach Mike Brey said on ESPN after the game. “We were having fun. It was awesome.”

At first it did not seem that the game would go into overtime. The Cardinals buried the Irish in the end of the game, pulling ahead 56-48 with under a minute left to go. However Jerian Grant led the Irish forward, hitting three consecutive 3-pointers to tie the game in the final seconds.

Five overtimes ensued in which both teams could not find an edge as history was being made. After the game finally ended, the Irish went into hysterics after beating their rival in one of the most thrilling games in recent memory.

It was especially memorable for Chane Behanan who scored a career high 30 points in the game.

”It’s always overtime,” Chane said. ”The strongest will survive. They were a great team tonight and made a lot of big shots.”

It certainly was thrilling to watch, but I’m sure the Irish would appreciate sticking to regulation games from now on, three hours games are a fun novelty, but both sides were exhausted after the historic ordeal.