Lamont Butler hit a jump shot at the buzzer, sending San Diego State to its first national championship game with a 72-71 win over fellow mid-major Florida Atlantic in the Final Four on Saturday night.
With FAU leading by three, San Diego State’s Jaedon LeDee hit a short jumper to cut it to 71-70.
After FAU’s Johnell Davis missed a contested layup, the Aztecs didn’t call timeout and got the ball to Butler. He worked the clock down before hitting the shot that sent the Aztecs racing out onto the floor.
“The plan was just to get downhill,” Butler said after the game. “They cut me off a little bit. I looked up and there was two seconds left, so I got to a shot that I’m comfortable with, and I hit it. I’m happy.”
The Aztecs had one timeout left when they got the ball on that final possession, but head coach Brian Dutcher said he had “ran out of plays, so I decided not to take a timeout.”
San Diego State will face UConn or Miami in Monday’s championship game.
In an impressive comeback, San Diego State erased a 14-point second-half deficit, marking the third-largest comeback in Final Four history, according to CBS Sports.
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