CUSA Mountain West Conference

Butler’s Buzzer-Beater lifts Aztecs to NCAA Finals

Ken

By Kenneth Cross

The proverbial saying, “The Butler did it” has been used over and over to describe San Diego State guard Lamont Butler’s buzzer-beating shot with 0.6 seconds that lifted the Aztecs over Florida Atlantic, 72-71, in Game 1 of the Final Four on Saturday at NRG Stadium in Houston.

After Aztecs forward Aguek Arop challenged FAU’s Johnell Davis in the middle and Davis missed, Nathan Mensah grabbed the rebound and found Butler with his outlet pass up the right side of the floor.

Butler drove to the baseline and then adjusted his footing to an angle at about 18 feet. He scored the game-winner over Nick Boyd’s outstretched hand.

“They did a good job cutting me off,” explained Butler. “Once I looked up, it was two seconds left, I knew I had to make a shot. I got a shot I’m comfortable with. Went to a pull-up; glad it went in.”

Florida Atlantic led for over 31 minutes in the game and took a 56-42 lead after Alijah Martin made seven consecutive free throws to push the Owls into the double digit lead with 13:53 remaining.

Forward Jaedon Ledee had gotten the Aztecs in position to win the game on the two previous possessions when he scored on a layup and then hit a jumper inside the foul line to bring San Diego State to within 69-68 with 36 seconds to play.

SDSU head coach Brian Dutcher decided to allow the play to transpire after the stop by Mensah and Ledee at the basket. He once again showed the confidence in the thought process of his veteran team.

“I think with a seven-second differential and I thought we’d have enough time to get up the floor,” analyzed Dutcher. “Usually you get one dribble per second if you’re going up the floor, so I figured we had enough time to get six or seven dribbles to head up the floor. I don’t know how many he took, but it was probably close to that.”

Dutcher and his staff brought Butler in from Cal Poly High School, the home of former NBA great Reggie Miller. Butler saved the day for the Aztecs.

“We knew what we were getting with Lamont, getting a leader, a tough hard-nosed kid, and he has the ability to score the ball when he needs to,” said Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher.

Aztecs Found Their Niche: San Diego State held Florida Atlantic to 8-of-24 from the floor in the second half as they were able to slow the pace and cut the deficit from 56-42.

SDSU hit a 14-4 run over a 5:27 stretch as their vaunted defense held the Owls to one field goal in that period.

Ledee capped that run with a basket when he posted up off the left box and scored. This came aft a pair of threes by Micah Parrish and a triple from the right top of the key from Bradley.

“We were just motivated,” said Bradley. “We’d been in that position so many times throughout the year. We’ve always been knocked down, but the biggest thing we always do is get back up and keep fighting.”

‘Matt-ing’ the Challenge: Aztecs guard Matt Bradley, who transferred from Cal before last season, had been San Diego State’s leading scorer this season as he averaged 12.8 points per game and joined Adam Seiko in shooting 36.5 percent from three.

Bradley had struggled in shooting in the last three games of the tournament as he was 6 of-27 in the wins over Creighton, Alabama, and Furman. He led the Aztecs with 21 points on Saturday as he hit three triples to give San Diego State a 14-5 lead with 14:38 remaining in the first half.

He hit three free throws and then netted a three and another pair from the stripe as San Diego State cut that 14-point deficit to 60-58 with 9:05 to play.

“He’s a dangerous offensive player,” said Dutcher. “He can create his own shot and he’s a very good passer too. It was good to see Matt rolling.”

Forward Jaedon Ledee scored nine of his 12 points in the final 9:29 as he scored on a pair of jumpers in the paint help draw San DIego State even at 65-65 with 4:24 left.

“I think the way FAU played, they kept us down the whole game, but we found a way to win,” said Ledee. “Like Matt played sensational, Lamont hitting a big shot at the end and everybody, I think everybody contributed.”