Lamont Butler did it again – almost.
In the end, San Diego State ran out of time Saturday, falling 67-66, though Boise State made enough mistakes in the final 41 seconds for the Aztecs to close an eight-point gap. Butler capped the effort with a three-pointer, but just a tick remained on the clock as it fell.
“If we had played like that for 20 more seconds in the game it could have been the difference,” Reese Waters told San Diego Sports 760.
Though it’s early going in the Mountain West, with the loss, SDSU (15-4, 4-2 MW) slipped behind Utah State and Boise State (13-5, 4-1 MW) in the race for the conference crown.
The Aztecs chased the Broncos most of the game, as Boise State showed strength from long distance.
The teams were tied 10-all when Roddie Anderson III – a transfer from the University of San Diego – made a second straight three-pointer for the Broncos on the way to establishing a six-point lead.
San Diego State pulled within two on a layup by Miles Heide and free throws by Miles Byrd, but Boise State followed with a 8-0 run that included a flagrant foul call against Jaedon LeDee.
Tyson Degenhart, who worked the refs after seemingly incidental contact ended with a blow to his face, made one of two free throws. He followed with a layup and a steal that led to a three by Andrew Meadow, giving Boise State its largest lead of the game, at 26-16.
The Aztecs answered with a Micah Parrish layup, then a three by Elijah Saunders, but couldn’t quite catch up to the Broncos. LeDee pulled them within two points twice, after hitting a jumper to make it 29-27 and downing two free throws to make it 31-29.
Yet Boise State kept the ball out of LeDee’s hands for much of the half on the way to taking a 34-31 lead into the break. They also went 6-of-14 on three-pointers, compared to SDSU’s 1-of-8.
Neither side took command on their return to the floor, but nearing the 10-minute mark Heide tied the game at 42 with a layup. Moments later, he gave SDSU its first lead since the opening minutes when he made one of two free throws.
The exchange kicked off a furious game of back and forth with the lead changing eight times in the next three minutes.
But Parrish fouled O’Mar Stanley and the forward made two of three free throws before giving his Broncos more breathing room with a three to make it 59-52 with less than six minutes to play.
Yet with a minute to go, Anderson traveled and Chibuzo Agbo promptly fouled Byrd, who made both free throws. SDSU began to foul to stop the clock, but with 22 seconds left, Butler drove to the basket for a layup and Waters added a three after a Bronco turnover to make it 66-63.
Max Rice sealed the win by making one of two free throws with seven seconds left. Butler’s long three came at :01, and SDSU didn’t have enough time to foul before the buzzer sounded.
SDSU mistakes proved costly. They had 13 turnovers and until Butler’s late layup, the Aztecs hadn’t had a field goal for six minutes. “We made just enough to come up a point short,” head coach Brian Dutcher told San Diego Sports 760.
Next up, the team returns home Tuesday to welcome Wyoming (9-8, 2-2 MW) at 6 p.m., closing a stretch of four games in 10 days.
