5 takeaways: San Diego State stuns FAU basketball at the buzzer in Final Four

HOUSTON — The Florida Atlantic men's basketball team fell one jump shot shy of the national championship game of the NCAA Tournament.

Number 5-seed San Diego State defeated No. 9-seed FAU, 72-71, on Saturday at Houston's NRG Stadium in the night's first Final Four contest.

After FAU's Johnell Davis missed a layup on the Owls' final possession, San Diego State's LaMont Butler brought the ball down the court and hit a jumper as time expired to send the Aztecs to the final.

"I didn't really know how big the shot was but we're going to the national championship. That's not something many people do," Butler said. "I'm just glad it went in. It felt good when it left my hand.

"(Nicholas Boyd) cut me off from the baseline so there weren't really many angles that I had. ... I just tried to sell that I was going to the rim, then I rose and made the shot."

FAU (35-4) was attempting to become the lowest seed to ever reach the national championship game.

The Aztecs (32-6) will face No. 4-seed Connecticut, who defeated No. 5 seed Miami, 72-59, in the night's second game in NRG Stadium.

Here are five quick takeaways from the Aztecs' Final Four victory:

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Owls crumble to Aztec rally

FAU led by as many as 14 points early in the second half, but San Diego State did not go away. The Aztecs closed within 2 points in an energetic run that brought their faithful into a frenzy midway through the second half.

San Diego State then pummeled FAU on the offensive glass, corralling nine offensive rebounds in a short span and eventually managing to tie the game at 65.

"They went on a run," FAU star sophomore Aljiah Martin said. "They were getting extra possesssions and that was really the turning point in the game."

Palm Beach Lakes graduate Giancarlo Rosado silenced the crowd with a turnaround jumper on the baseline to restore FAU's advantage at 67-65.

The Aztecs again pulled within a single point as JaeDon LeDee hit a jumper in the lane to pull SDSU within 71-70 in the final minute.

FAU was unable to score on its final possession as Johnell Davis missed a shot with less than 10 seconds remaining. Butler then hit a buzzer-beating jumper to crush Owl dreams.

San Diego State head coach Brian Dutcher said he told his team during the game's last timeout to attack the rim on the Aztecs' final possession. He was more than happy with Butler's improvisation.

"March is for players," Dutcher said. "Lamont made a play and made an old coach look good."

FAU's Alijah Martin, SDSU's Matt Bradley lead scoring

Martin led all scorers with 26 points. Boyd was the only other Owl in double digits with 12.

Matt Bradley carried the offensive load for San Diego State with 21 points. LeDee was the only other double-digit scorer with 12 points for the Aztecs.

Aztecs muzzle the Owls in transition

FAU's transition game was totally neutralized by the Aztecs.

FAU had no fast-break points on Saturday. The Owls entered the game ranked No. 64 nationally in fastbreak points, averaging 11.8 per game.

The Aztecs themselves managed just 2 fastbreak points in a half-court game of basketball.

Owls mostly care for the basketball

The Owls' up-tempo brand of basketball can at times lend itself to spells of turnovers, but not on Saturday.

FAU protected the basketball with just three turnovers in the first 24 minutes of the game, down from the significant totals, which hampered the Owls offense in Madison Square Garden.

FAU finished with just 10 turnovers and forced 8 from the Aztecs.

FAU offense ignites in first half

FAU's offense was scintillating under the bright lights of NRG Stadium in the first half.

The Owls shot 15-of-28 on field goals and hit 43 percent of 3-point attempts, breaking the Aztecs' stifling defense and trend of limiting opponents from downtown in the NCAA Tournament.

San Diego State had held opponents to just 17 percent 3-point shooting in the NCAA Tournament.

FAU was quintessentially balanced in the first half: Nine different Owls scored points, led by 9 points on three 3-pointers from Nick Boyd.

West Palm Beach's Giancarlo Rosado was perfectly efficient, chipping in 6 points on 3-of-3 shooting in just over 10 minutes of first half action.

Eric J. Wallace is the deputy sports editor for The Palm Beach Post. He can be reached at ejwallace@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: FAU basketball's Final Four dream crushed at buzzer vs. San Diego State