New Mexico vs San Diego State Basketball Recap

New Mexico 88, San Diego State 86 (OT)

Last year, the San Diego State Aztecs came within one 3-point basket of making the 2009 NCAA Tournament. This year, the boys from the Montezuma Mesa might have fallen a 3-pointer short of an at-large ticket to the most popular college party in America.

The plane flight from Albuquerque to San Diego has to be a markedly painful one for Coach Steve Fisher's ballclub after a devastating two-point loss at The Pit. In a game San Diego State had to win - due to a thin non-conference resume and a middle-division location in the Mountain West standings - an agonizing series of late-game events left SDSU standing at the altar.

Just like last season.

It will take a championship in the Mountain West Conference Tournament for San Diego State to go dancing. That's because Fisher's forces were likely locked out of at-large NCAA contention on a searing and sickening Saturday at Bob King Court. While the Lobos, under the guidance of Coach Steve Alford, continued their steady surge toward the field of 65, the team they defeated is running out of chances to register quality wins. That's the hard truth, but it's impossible to ignore. This was the scalp San Diego's basketballers needed to collect, and while they came close, they couldn't finish the job.

For perspective on this gutting result for SDSU, consider what this team experienced last March. Having reached the final of the MWC Tournament in Las Vegas, the Aztecs - up against regular-season league champion Utah - fought an uphill battle for most of the game but were able to attempt a 3-pointer in the final seconds that would have sent them to March Madness. Alas, that long ball missed the mark, and Utah came away with a 52-50 win that shattered the SDSU locker room.

That scenario, 11 long months ago, now seems so frustratingly fresh, even though the game SDSU played against New Mexico was quite different from last season's slugfest against Utah.

Aztec aspirations once again died a one-possession death against "Los Lobos," who led for most of the day but wobbled late in regulation. New Mexico took a 72-63 advantage into the final 100 seconds of play, but SDSU managed the endgame phase of this game to near perfection. A quick score-steal-score sequence immediately brought the deficit to four points (72-68), and then, in the final 31 seconds, the Aztecs continued to squeeze extra possessions from the clock while making New Mexico finalize at the foul line.

While SDSU hit two 3-pointers in those final 31 seconds, Lobo guard Dairese Gary made only 4 of 6 foul shots to give the Aztecs the pathway to a comeback. When SDSU guard D.J. Gay got fouled on a 3-pointer with just one second left in a game UNM led by a 78-76 margin, it was entirely possible that the three points the Aztecs lacked last year against the Utes would emerge in 2010 versus the Lobos. The only plot twist was that the triple would come in the form of three foul shots, not one big bomb.

But Gay had to make all three shots in order to get his team across the threshold. He couldn't do the deed.

Gay made two free throws, but not all of them, and New Mexico fans were happy to move on to overtime. If SDSU fans were cringing after Gay's imperfect foul shooting at the end of regulation, they were surely cursing after enduring the final five seconds of the extra period.

With the game tied at 86 and just 2.7 seconds remaining in overtime, San Diego State's Billy White was ruled to have fouled UNM star Darington Hobson (who did everything for the Lobos on Saturday, with 29 points, 12 boards, six assists, and three steals). The play did not involve a sure layup or a likely made shot for New Mexico, so the foul represented something of a bonus for the Lobos. Hobson - who has carried his team for most of the year - naturally drained both foul shots, and Fisher called timeout to draw up a play that would cover 94 feet and score.

The good news: SDSU got a clean look, as Kelvin Davis was able to face the basket and launch a 22-footer from the top of the key.

The bad news: the 3-pointer, which would have won the game, didn't drop. Utah 2009 turned into New Mexico 2010, and with that, another episode of San Diego sadness had been written in the Mountain West Conference.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer