The 9 OT Game (still a Tennessee record)
More than half a century ago, a pair of county high school basketball teams played each other for a district championship. There is nothing unusual about that. It has happened before and will happen again. The unusual part about that game: It was for the District 27 championship, and it was not decided until the ninth overtime. Sharon and Dresden played each other for the boys’ District 27 championship on February 15, 1964, in front of 2,000 people at the University of Tennessee-Martin Branch field house. The Eagles won the marathon game 30-28 with two seconds left in the ninth overtime. That nine-overtime game set a state record at the time and it still holds as that state mark 51 years later. The national record for the most overtimes in one game is 13, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations record book. That game was also set in February of 1964 by a pair of North Carolina high school teams. Another unusual thing that happened in that game between Sharon and Dresden is all five Sharon starters played the entire game without any substitutions. That’s 59 minutes of playing time for each of the five starters. That is something which would never happen in today’s game. Nor is likely any game would go that many overtimes. There is one more thing that happened in that game which is unheard of today - no team scored in any of the nine overtimes until the winning shot with two seconds left in that ninth overtime. Today’s fan might wonder how that could happen in such a long game.
Phil Gordon, who started for Sharon in that game, explained the strategy both head coaches used. “Coach Jim Chance of the Sharon Eagles and Coach Buddy Vineyard of the Dresden Lions operated through most of the overtimes on the sound theory that the other team cannot win if it does not have the ball,” Gordon said. “The game itself was a throwback to the old-fashioned defensive battles of several decades ago. The teams went through eight successive 3-minute overtimes without either team scoring a point or committing a foul.” It was the old-style four-corner offense that is still used today in some late-game situations. Dresden controlled the tip-off in the final overtime and held the ball until there was 2:20 showing on the clock and went for a shot and missed it. Sharon grabbed the rebound, went down the court and held onto to the ball. The Eagles took a shot with four seconds remaining, missed it and Duane Snider was there for the tip-in with two seconds on the clock for the win. The Lions sent the game into overtime when Steve Shanklin tipped in a missed shot to tie the game at 28-all with six seconds left in regulation. Sharon missed a shot with three seconds left in the first overtime, and Dresden missed one with five ticks on the clock in the third overtime. The second overtime only had one attempted shot and several jump balls. The Eagles missed another shot in the fourth overtime with three seconds remaining and missed one at the six-second mark in the fifth overtime. Both teams missed a shot in the final 30 seconds of the sixth overtime, and Sharon once again missed a shot in the seventh overtime in the final seconds. The eighth overtime saw the Lions picking off a pass with 1:14 remaining and missed a shot with seven seconds left on the clock. The five starters for the Eagles were Tommy Moore with 12 points, Gordon had 11, Snider finished with five, Larry Edwards scored and Jimmy Damron was held scoreless. For the Lions it was Danny Stafford with 11 points, Shanklin had six, Dan Chadwick and Johnny Alexander both tossed in four points, Hugh Adams scored two, Larry Mathis added one point, while both David Campbell and Tommy Alexander got in the game but did not score. Here is a little more trivia: The state record for overtimes in a girls’ game is 16 set by East Ridge versus Ooltewah back in January 1969, which is also the national record.
Phil Gordon, who started for Sharon in that game, explained the strategy both head coaches used. “Coach Jim Chance of the Sharon Eagles and Coach Buddy Vineyard of the Dresden Lions operated through most of the overtimes on the sound theory that the other team cannot win if it does not have the ball,” Gordon said. “The game itself was a throwback to the old-fashioned defensive battles of several decades ago. The teams went through eight successive 3-minute overtimes without either team scoring a point or committing a foul.” It was the old-style four-corner offense that is still used today in some late-game situations. Dresden controlled the tip-off in the final overtime and held the ball until there was 2:20 showing on the clock and went for a shot and missed it. Sharon grabbed the rebound, went down the court and held onto to the ball. The Eagles took a shot with four seconds remaining, missed it and Duane Snider was there for the tip-in with two seconds on the clock for the win. The Lions sent the game into overtime when Steve Shanklin tipped in a missed shot to tie the game at 28-all with six seconds left in regulation. Sharon missed a shot with three seconds left in the first overtime, and Dresden missed one with five ticks on the clock in the third overtime. The second overtime only had one attempted shot and several jump balls. The Eagles missed another shot in the fourth overtime with three seconds remaining and missed one at the six-second mark in the fifth overtime. Both teams missed a shot in the final 30 seconds of the sixth overtime, and Sharon once again missed a shot in the seventh overtime in the final seconds. The eighth overtime saw the Lions picking off a pass with 1:14 remaining and missed a shot with seven seconds left on the clock. The five starters for the Eagles were Tommy Moore with 12 points, Gordon had 11, Snider finished with five, Larry Edwards scored and Jimmy Damron was held scoreless. For the Lions it was Danny Stafford with 11 points, Shanklin had six, Dan Chadwick and Johnny Alexander both tossed in four points, Hugh Adams scored two, Larry Mathis added one point, while both David Campbell and Tommy Alexander got in the game but did not score. Here is a little more trivia: The state record for overtimes in a girls’ game is 16 set by East Ridge versus Ooltewah back in January 1969, which is also the national record.
~from the Weakley County Press archives and re-run February 12, 2015