SDSU MEN'S BASKETBALL: AZTECS WILL PLAY FOR NATIONAL TITLE AS BUTLER'S BUZZER BEATER COMPLETES FINAL FOUR COMEBACK

Printer-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version Share this
 
Photo:  Lamont Butler exults as he jumps into Aguek Arop’s arms after his buzzer beater fell for the Aztec win. Photo credit: Screen shot, @MarchMadnessMBB via Twitter
 
April 1, 2023 (Houston) - San Diego State scored yet another first for the basketball program Saturday, as Lamont Butler’s buzzer beater sent them to the championship game at the NCAA Tournament.

The Aztecs defeated Florida Atlantic 72-71 Saturday in Houston on Butler’s jumper with less than two seconds remaining, completing a dramatic comeback from a 14-point deficit.

 
The Aztecs (32-6) and the Owls (35-4) both were making their first Final Four appearances, but only SDSU will move on to Monday’s title game, against the winner of Saturday’s late contest between UConn (29-8) and Miami (29-7).
 
Jaedon LeDee, with 36 seconds left, hit a jumper to make it a one-point game, with San Diego State trailing 71-70.
 
After a timeout by FAU with 17 seconds left, Johnell Davis, challenged by Aguek Arop, missed the chance to put his team up by three with nine seconds to go. After a rebound by Nathan Mensah, head coach Brian Dutcher had a timeout, but declined to take it, putting his team’s fate in Butler’s hands.
 
“The plan was just to get downhill,” Butler told CBS. Dutcher confirmed it, adding, “and he made the play.”
 
But the Aztecs had to come a long way to complete the fifth largest comeback in Final Four history.
 
For the first time during the tournament a team broke out against SDSU in the first half, as FAU put 40 on the board after shooting 54%. The Owls would go 14-7 the rest of the way for a 40-33 lead at the break.
 
The advantage ballooned to 14 as FAU’s Alijah Martin was flawless from the free-throw line. But after a three-pointer by Micah Parrish, Davis fouled Matt Bradley as he attempted a three, and he landed the free throws.
 
Parrish hit from distance again, and following a Bradley three and two jumpers by LeDee, the Aztecs had suddenly cut the big deficit to just two.
 
They came all the way back by dominating the offensive boards and going to the free-throw line – though they could have taken the lead if they had hit them all.
 
An Arop jumper tied the game at 65, with just over four minutes to play but Giancarlo Rosado quickly answered. Neither team would score for the next two minutes, setting up the rush to the finish.
 
Three of the teams in this year’s Final Four, SDSU, FAU and Miami, made it this far in the tournament for the first time. Only UConn has an elite pedigree, having won four championships, the last in 2014.
 
The fifth-seeded Aztecs won the South Region and the Owls, a ninth seed, won the East Region, In the most recent national rankings, San Diego State came in at No. 18 on the Top 25, while FAU held the final spot.
 
 
 

 


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.