NEW YORK – No more than 45 minutes after Syracuse won what will undoubtedly be considered one of the greatest games in Big East history, a reporter approached Andy Rautins and asked a simple question: Was it the greatest you’ve ever seen?

Suddenly, Eric Devendorf cut across the locker room, shouting an answer before Rautins had time to respond.

‘It’s No. 1. It’s the best game ever. Don’t even try to say anything else,’ Devendorf interrupted. ‘No way that wasn’t the best game ever.’

Rautins turned to Devendorf and smiled, then turned back to the media and nodded. How else to describe an epic 127-117 victory over arch-rival Connecticut in the quarterfinals of the Big East tournament that needed six overtimes to complete?

‘He’s right. It’s the greatest game ever,’ Rautins said. ‘It’s No. 1. Absolutely. There’s no question about it.’

Hyperbole, perhaps. But Thursday night’s contest at Madison Square Garden, which didn’t end until 1:22 a.m. Friday morning, was nothing short of instant classic. The game took three hours, 46 minutes to complete, but few of the 19,375 in attendance left before the final buzzer. It was the longest game ever played in the Big East tournament. The six overtimes tied for the second-most in Division I history.

By the time the game finally ended, eight players had fouled out. No. 18 Syracuse (25-8) was using 6-foot-7 freshman Kris Joseph at center and walk-on Justin Thomas at shooting guard. Jonny Flynn had played an unbelievable 67 of 70 minutes and said he felt his legs starting to give out ‘between the second and fourth overtime.’ Paul Harris tried a dunk in the sixth overtime, but literally couldn’t elevate high enough to get the ball over the rim.

The game operations crew at MSG played ‘After Midnight,’ ‘All Night Long’ and ‘In the Midnight Hour’ as the overtimes kept coming and Thursday night melted into Friday morning. The scoreboard simply said it was period eight.

Flynn led all players with 34 points and seven assists. Harris notched career highs in points (29) and rebounds (22) in 56 minutes. Devendorf (61 minutes) and Rautins (49 minutes) scored 22 and 20, respectively.

The Orange’s prize is the opportunity to play again Friday night at 9:30 p.m. in the tournament semifinal against West Virginia, who knocked off No. 2 Pittsburgh hours earlier in the night. First, SU just wants an opportunity to catch its breath.

‘No words. I’ve got no words to even try to describe it,’ SU head coach Jim Boeheim said. ‘I’ve never been prouder of any team I’ve ever coached.’

The game almost ended in regulation. UConn’s Kemba Walker tied the score at 71 with 1.1 seconds remaining, leaving the Orange with enough time for one more shot. Harris flung a baseball pass the length of the court, and the ball was tipped right into Devendorf’s hands. He launched a 3 at the buzzer that swished through, and the Syracuse players stormed the court thinking they had just won. Devendorf immediately jumped onto the scorer’s table and began pounding his chest.

After about a five-minute review, though, the officials changed their ruling. Television replays indicated the ball was still touching the edge of Devendorf’s fingertip as the clock ran out. Overtime was coming, and the Orange had to refocus.

‘It was definitely tough being on a high horse like that. I definitely thought the shot was good,’ Flynn said. ‘I thought we were going into the locker room. Just to come down from that big of a high was really difficult for us, but our coaching staff really regrouped us and we did a good job of keeping our composure.’

So Syracuse did for another 30 minutes, spanning over six overtimes. The No. 3 Huskies had an opportunity to win in the first extra period, but Rick Jackson slammed home a game-tying dunk with four seconds left.

Connecticut’s (27-4) next great chance came in the third OT. That time, it took a 3 by Rautins from well beyond the NBA arc to tie the score again with 11 seconds remaining. Rautins came around a Jackson screen and caught a pass from Flynn from about 22 feet out on the wing and drilled an off-balance shot.

‘Apparently, I still had my legs left, because I shot it from pretty deep,’ Rautins said.

Syracuse did not lead in any of the first five overtimes but somehow managed to take control of the sixth. Rautins hit a 3 to start the scoring, and the Orange never looked back, winning the period, 17-7.

Just like that, the marathon was over. Syracuse’s players could barely celebrate by that point, too tired to jump around like they did when Devendorf seemingly won the game more than an hour earlier. Flynn and Harris stood stooped over with their hands on their knees. Flynn said afterward he hadn’t eaten anything since 4 p.m. Thursday afternoon.

Not like any of that mattered anymore.

‘I don’t know what to say. It’s unbelievable. The game, oh man, it’s unbelievable man,’ Devendorf said, shaking his head as he spoke. ‘This game is unbelievable. I’m so tired right now. I just want to get in the shower and go to bed. Man, I’m just so tired. But it was worth it, man. It’s worth it.’

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Published on March 14, 2009 at 12:00 pm