Dream falls point short

Owls’ memorable runs ends in unforgettable loss

HOUSTON — It was one of those Final Four buzzer-beaters no one will ever forget.

Oh, but how the Florida Atlantic Owls wish they could.

The out-of-nowhere team’s first trip to college basketball’s biggest stage ended in excruciating fashion Saturday night, with San Diego State players almost running the Owls over as they flooded off the bench and swarmed the court to celebrate Lamont Butler’s jumper at the buzzer that gave the Aztecs a 72-71 victory.

The Owls made school history by getting here, only to walk off the court as part of history.

This was the first Final Four buzzer-beater in which the losing team was winning before the shot.

“I was in shock when the buzzer went off,” said FAU’S Nick Boyd.

Florida Atlantic’s players smiled and many danced on the bench during a second half in which it appeared they’d move within one win of a title no one could have seen coming.

Instead they ended up with a loss that nobody will ever forget.

“It was devastating,” Alijah Martin said of the shot.

Butler’s shot now goes into the March Madness annals, alongside Jalen Suggs’ long-range buzzer-beater for Gonzaga two years ago in the national semifinal, and even something that happened on this very floor the last time the Final Four was in Houston in 2016: Kris Jenkins’ buzzer-beater to win the title for Villanova.

Both those teams were tied before the winning shot went in.

Which means FAU will be remembered alongside UCLA and North Carolina as victims of some of the most crushing last-second losses this tournament has seen. But this one might go down as the most heartbreaking of all.

“The hardest part is there’s no next … the sadness is just that we don’t get to do it again tomorrow,” FAU coach Dusty May said.

But May believes this team will be remembered for much more than Saturday’s devastating exit.

“These guys have created memories and a legacy for a lifetime,” he said. “People will be talking about this group for the next 50 to 100 years.”

FAU’S Jalen Gaffney recalled the shot just minutes after it fell to send his team home.

“He ended up shooting a tough 2, which we like so we’ll live with the result. … It’s just basketball, (expletive) happens sometimes. He made a good shot and we’ve got to live with it.”

David J. Phillip The Associated Press Florida Atlantic guard Johnell Davis has his head down in a stunned locker room after Saturday’s loss to San Diego State. Davis missed a layup with nine seconds left that would have padded the lead.