Aztecs muscle into Final Four
Free throw at end, smothering defense carry San Diego State over Creighton
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Darrion Trammell had shot enough free throws in practice to believe at least one would fall when it mattered.
San Diego State’s 5-foot10-inch senior guard was fouled by Creighton’s Ryan Nembhard when he put up a floater near the free-throw line with 1.2 seconds left in a rugged NCAA Tournament South Region final that was tied at 56-all.
Trammell’s first free throw clanged off the rim, but he knocked down the second, and that was enough to push the 18thranked Aztecs into their first Final Four with a 57-56 victory Sunday.
Lamont Butler scored 18 points and Trammell 12 for fifth-seeded San Diego State (31-6), which slowed high-scoring, sixth-seeded Creighton (24-13) and became the first Mountain West team to reach the national semifinals.
The experienced Aztecs, in their sixth season under coach Brian Dutcher, will play the surprising
East Region champion, ninth-seeded Florida Atlantic, on Saturday in Houston for a spot in the national title game.
In the final seconds, Trammell dribbled from the perimeter and elevated for the potential winning shot. A chasing Nembhard got his hand on Trammell’s hip and was whistled for the foul, sending Trammell to the line for the first time in the game.
“I feel like I’ve shot probably a thousand free throws in the last week,” said Trammell, who was named the region’s most outstanding player. “And then today, I feel like I put in the work to be able to step up and have confidence that I’m going to make ’em.”
Make one, anyway. Creighton didn’t get a shot off on its final, desperation play. Baylor Scheierman threw the ensuing inbound pass the length of the floor. San Diego State’s Aguek Arop and Creighton’s Arthur Kaluma jumped for it, and the ball deflected out of bounds. Officials reviewed the play and determined that time had expired, and the celebration was on for the Aztecs.
“I wasn’t given an explanation other than there was no time on the clock,” Creighton coach Greg Mcdermott said. “They made no call on the floor but officiating is part of the game, and we’re not gonna go there.”
Scheierman had tied the game at 56-all when he stole an inbounds pass and converted a layup with 34 seconds remaining.
Ryan Kalkbrenner scored 17 points, and Scheierman and Kaluma had 12 apiece for the Bluejays, who went 2 of 17 from 3-point range.
The Aztecs, who got this far thanks to defense and physical play, held the Bluejays to 23 second-half points on 28 percent shooting as they won for the 14th time in 15 games. Creighton shot 40 percent overall.
San Diego State shot 38 percent but got clutch baskets from Nathan Mensah, whose jumper gave the Aztecs a 56-54 lead with 1:37 left, and Arop, who made two straight shots before that for a 54-50 advantage with 3:03 remaining.
“I’ve done that a thousand times throughout the season, so it was just another shot for me,” Arop, who had six points, said of his goahead jumper. “Obviously, there was a lot more weight to it, but I wasn’t thinking like that. I was just thinking, staying in rhythm, getting the shot up and putting my team up front.”