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Saturday’s Division-III basketball game between the Elmhurst Blue Jays and North Park Vikings was one for the books. Not only did it take double overtime to determine a winner, but the double overtime period took more than an hour to complete after an unexpected dunk delay.
Both Elmhurst and North Park are private Christian schools located just outside of Chicago. The latter entered the game at 17-5, while the former entered at 15-7 on the heels of a four-game winning streak.
It was going to be a competitive matchup between two competitive College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin programs and more than lived up to the expectations. The game was an instant classic!
Neither team led by more than four points through one half of play and changed leads fifteen times. The second half was more of the same— back-and-forth.
Down by three with under a minute left to play, the Vikings hit a crucial three-pointer to tie the game at 72. Each team’s final possessions were marred by turnovers and the game went to overtime.
With the score tied at 80 with 10 seconds left in overtime, the Blue Jays squandered two chances to win. The game went to double overtime as a result.
Elmhurst and North Park’s second overtime took hours.
In a bewildering turn of events, the second overtime was put on pause. Elmhurst guard Ocean Johnson (awesome name!) slipped through the lane during the opening seconds and threw down a thunderous dunk.
The only problem was that he brought the backboard down with him. It shattered all over the court.
Obviously, the game could not continue and was put on pause.
Thankfully the crew at R.A. Fanganel Hall was prepared. They got to work and replaced the backboard as quickly as possible.
After nearly two hours, play was able to continue!
North Park went on to win the four-hour bout and moved to 11-3 in conference play.
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