The Aztecs came back from a ten-point deficit at the half and clawed their way back to victory at The Pit, showing incredible grit.
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“It stings. It sucks. There’s no other way to put it.” – New Mexico coach Richard Pitino
Albuquerque, NM – The No. 22 SDSU Aztecs (23-5, 14-2 MW) defeated the New Mexico Lobos (20-9, 7-9 MW) 73-71 at The Pit in front of a sold out arena with 15,431 dedicated Lobos fans in attendance.
The game was decided on a lethal pull up jumper by Lamont Butler from 27 feet at the buzzer, after Jaelen House gave the Lobos a one-point lead with just six seconds remaining. On the following inbound, Butler’s three was an ice dagger to the Lobos.
The game was incredibly contested with the lead changing hands numerous times. Everybody in attendance will agree that both teams played full bore basketball, and everybody would agree that this game could have gone to either team. The Lobos, despite their loss, played amazing basketball.
Butler finished with 10 points, four boards and two assists. Matt Bradley added 11 points and Keshad Johnson nine.
Darrion Trammell opened with an horrific 1 of 8, but finished with 18 points after draining four second-half threes – ending a streak of poor shooting.
Victory came after a horrendous first half, when the Aztecs went from leading 8-2 at the first media timeout … to trailing by 10 at the half.
The Aztecs shot 7 of 28 in the first half, while failing to defend the arc against the Lobos, who went 6 of 10 in the first half behind the arc, while the Aztecs were 1 of 7.
The Lobos went on a 16-2 run, scoring on seven of eight possessions while the Aztecs went 1 of 5 with four turnovers, as KJ Jenkins made back-to-back three pointers.
The margin increased to 13 early in the second half before the Aztecs finally changed their equation and took it to the paint. After missing three threes in under a minute, Trammell made one followed by a baseline jumper, and then made three more.
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New Mexico kept ahead, maintaining a ten-point lead for the first ten minutes of the second half, until the Aztecs clawed back with a sudden 12-2 run.
Aguek Arop got a pair of baskets, Micah Parrish scored on an inbounds play, Trammell made a 3 on an inbounds play, Keshad Johnson was left wide open and drained a 3, as Lobos fans got very quiet.
The Aztecs took over the lead since leading 24-21 and suddenly the Lobos realized the deal was not sealed.
New Mexico then tied at 64 on a pair of free throws, then got the ball back after a Matt Bradley miss. Butler stole a pass and was fouled before he could shoot. The Aztecs inbounded under their own basket, Trammell passing to Nathan Mensah, then screening off him for a corner hand-off three-pointer for the 67-64 lead.
The Lobos got within one on two Mashburn free throws, only for SDSU to break the press, run a high ball screen and find Parrish for a three and a 70-66 lead.
Then things got very dicey very quick.
Mensah fouled Jamaal Mashburn Jr. attempting a 3 with 16.7 seconds on the clock. Mash made all three free throws. The Aztecs broke the press, but Trammell’s pass was deflected and House dribbled through heavy traffic for a layup with six seconds on the clock. 71-70 Lobos lead with six seconds to go.
Six seconds… six dribbles. Butler made his way up the court, and instead of driving for a foul as Brian Dutcher wanted, he pulled it up several feet behind the arc and sank his three-pointer shot at the buzzer from 27 feet for the win.
San Diego State ended the game with a guaranteed share as Mountain West regular season champions. The Aztec Nation congratulates SDSU, and commends the Lobos, who played amazing basketball despite the loss.
Story originally appeared on Mountain West Wire
