FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Lamont Butler hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 14 seconds to play to give the San Diego State men's basketball team a 57-56 lead, but Colorado State answered five seconds later and defeated the Aztecs 58-57 on Friday night in Moby Arena.
The Aztecs (12-6, 4-3 MW) trailed by 20 points, 47-27 with 10:15 to play. But a 17-to-9 run over the next 10 minutes, led by 15 of Matt Bradley's game-high 27 points, trimmed the Colorado State advantage to just a bucket, 56-54 with 1:05 to play.
Butler, who finished 2-of-4 from the bonus distance and had eight points, then drained a three from the wing to give SDSU its first lead of the game, 57-65, with 14 seconds to go. Colorado State (17-3, 7-3 MW) came right back down the floor and got a David Roddy jumper in the lane with nine ticks left on the clock to regain the lead for the Rams.
On the ensuing possession, Bradley then got the ball on the right wing, drove to the bucket and appeared to get fouled on his shot attempt, but there was no whistle and Colorado State escaped losing its third game in a row with the one-point victory.
The Aztecs dominated the boards 43-to-31 and had won 29 straight games in which it outrebounded its opponent before tonight. Aguek Arop led San Diego State and equaled his career high with eight rebounds. Nathan Mensah had seven, Keshad Johnson six, Butler finished with five and Bradley, Trey Pulliam and Tahirou Diabate grabbed four each.
Offensively the Aztecs suffered their second toughest shooting night of the season hitting 19-of-63 shots (30.2 percent) including just 6-of-28 in the first half (21.4 percent).
San Diego State has little time to dwell on this outcome. The Aztecs host the Nevada Wolf Pack on Sunday afternoon in a 1 p.m. PT tip at Steve Fisher Court at Viejas Arena.
-SDSU-