San Diego State transformed what looked to be a laugher into a one-point lead with 14 seconds left Friday, but the comeback fell short, as Colorado State escaped 58-57.
Lamont Butler put the Aztecs up with a three-pointer – his team’s first lead of the game – after trailing by 20 points with just over 10 minutes to play.
But the Rams’ David Roddy, who finished the game with 22 points, grabbed a loose ball after his team drove back up court, making a 15-foot jumper to regain the lead with nine seconds left.
The Aztecs put the ball in Matt Bradley’s hands, and with four seconds left – as he was triple-teamed beneath the basket – he missed the final shot, giving the Colorado State the win.
Coach Brian Dutcher told XTRA 1360 that he tried to call a timeout to set up a play, but it wasn’t granted amid the din of the Moby Arena crowd.
He said he was “disappointed like crazy that we didn’t find a way to finish and win that game.”
With the loss, San Diego State slipped to 12-6 on the season and 4-3 in the Mountain West. Colorado State improved to 17-3 and 7-3 in the conference.
SDSU, coming off an easy 72-47 victory Monday over New Mexico, struggled with turnovers, piling up 10 before the half, as defense dominated to open the game.
The Aztecs trailed 23-18 at the break, but the deficit ballooned when play resumed, and after a pair of Ram free throws, they were behind 47-27.
The team began to mount a comeback as Bradley caught fire, scoring 16 points in the final 10 minutes, including three from long distance. Butler though, came through down the stretch. He pulled San Diego State within two, making a layup with 1:05 on the clock, then gave the team their brief lead.
If the Aztecs had held on, they also would have tasted sweet revenge, as the Rams shocked them last year at home, erasing a 26-point deficit to beat SDSU.
Bradley – who scored 26 in his team’s easy win over Colorado State last month – matched his best-scoring performance of the season, at 27 points.
The Aztecs, who left Colorado late Friday, will have to regroup quickly as they return to Viejas Arena to face Nevada at 1 p.m. Sunday.
The Wolf Pack (9-11, 3-6 MW) lost 73-56 Friday to Fresno State.
