The Aztecs Will Compete for 1st Basketball Championship in School’s History
(Jamie Schwaberow / NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
It was a beauty of a game. The San Diego State Aztecs (32-6) shocked the Florida Atlantic Owls (35-4) with a buzzer-beater to advance to the NCAA Championship game on Monday. It was all junior guard Lamont Butler in the end, who has nerves of steel as he hit a jumper as the clock wound down to give the Aztecs a 72-71 win. The comeback by San Diego State University (SDSU) is the fifth largest in Final Four history. SDSU will play in the national title game for the first time in the school’s history.
Florida Atlantic (FAU) controlled the game, shooting 50% from the field. They led by seven at halftime and extended their lead to 54-40 with 14:56 to go. The Owls did not relinquish the lead during the entire second half. The mentally tough Aztecs, however, would not go away and crashed the offensive boards. With 4:24 to play, they tied the game at 65.
The Owls would respond and lead by two with less than 46 seconds left. The Aztecs Jaedon LeDee made a jumper with 36 seconds left, and the Owl’s Johnell Davis missed a layup with nine seconds left. Nathan Mensah got the crucial rebound giving the Aztecs a last shot with seven seconds left. SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher decided not to call time out, saying:
“I ran out of plays, so I decided not to take the timeout,” head coach Brian Dutcher said after the game on CBS. “I said if we get the rebound, let’s get downhill, send all three bigs to the rim. Lamont got downhill; he made the play. I’m proud of him.”
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And the magic happened with 0.6 seconds left; Butler did precisely as his coach asked and hit the game-winning shot—jubilation for the Aztecs and heartbreak for the Owls inside Houston’s NRG Stadium. The shot – Butler said he’s dreamed about it since he was a kid. This game’s ending is why we love March Madness; a Hollywood writer couldn’t have scripted a better game.
“He [Coach Brian Dutcher] told me just go downhill,” Butler said. “I got to a shot I was comfortable with and pulled up, and it went in.”
(K.C. Alfred/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
“You can’t even dream about what just happened,” his father, Lamont Butler Sr., said moments after the shot went in.
The outstanding Matt Bradley led the Aztecs with 21 points, 5-of-12 from the field; Jaedon Ledee had 12. Butler scored nine. For FAU, Alijah Martin, who was fantastic, had 26, Nicholas Boyd had 12 points, and Johnell Davis with eight.
“We took it to a new height,” Boyd said about the program. “All I can do is smile and be appreciative of the run we went on and know next year you’re going to hear it from FAU again. You’re going to see us in the same position, and it’s going to be a different outcome, I promise you.”
The San Diego State University Aztecs will take on the No. 1 seed and heavily favored UConn Huskies, the lone number one seed to advance past the round of the Elite Eight on Monday night.
