WATCH: San Diego State’s Lamont Butler Sinks Buzzer-Beater to Defeat FAU
The San Diego State Aztecs are headed to the national championship game. That’s because in the most clutch of clutch moments, guard Lamont Butler clutched up and connected on a buzzer-beater as time expired to defeat the Florida Atlantic Owls 72-71 in the Final Four Saturday evening in Houston.
To set up the heroics, San Diego State needed a stop on its final defensive possession, and it got said stop. Following two Owls timeouts, the Aztecs forced a miss, then Butler took matters into his own hands, driving up the court, dipsy doo-ing and eventually canning the jumper from the right side.
Further in order to set up the heroics, San Diego State had to overcome a 14-point second half deficit. It trailed 56-42 when Florida Atlantic guard Alijah Martin hit a pair of free throws with 13:53 to play.
But then came San Diego State’s flurry. A 16-4 run drew it within two at the 9:05 mark. It was close the rest of the way, as the Aztecs never led in the second half until Butler put them over the top with the final shot. But that’s all matters, in the end.
The Owls jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first half, before San Diego State ripped off a 14-0 run to grab a nine-point lead. Florida Atlantic responded with a 16-3 spurt to grab a 21-17 lead. Florida Atlantic eventually took over down the stretch in the first half to grab a double-digit lead and eventually hold a 40-33 advantage at intermission.
Then the crazy second half ensued. And ultimately, the crazy half favored the Aztecs in the wildest of wild finishes.
