San Diego State basketball: not good for the heart.
In a season that already has featured two overtime wins after blowing double-digit leads and a buzzer-beater after being down 14 inside seven minutes to go, the Aztecs offered a new twist on what is becoming an old story.
Up 16 in the second half.
Down five with 45 seconds to go.
Win.
A year ago, Micah Parrish made a 3 from the left corner with 2.4 seconds left to beat UC Irvine at Viejas Arena. Saturday night, the same two teams met in the same place, and Parrish’s layup with 10.4 seconds left gave the No. 25 Aztecs a dramatic 63-62 win they probably didn’t deserve but will gladly take with Jaedon LeDee, their leading scorer and rebounder (and pretty much everything else), sidelined with a sprained elbow.
Parrish was fouled on the play but missed the free throw, and UC Irvine came to the other end looking for the winner. Justin Hohn, who had already made four 3s, launched one with a hand in his face.
Short.
Buzzer.
Celebration.
Exhale.
It almost certainly won’t save the Aztecs from losing their ranking in the Associated Press, thanks to Tuesday’s 79-73 loss at Grand Canyon, but it does preserve an NCAA Tournament resume.
And it does prove that they can win without LeDee.
Here’s how they did it, down five inside a minute to go:
Jay Pal got fouled and made one of two free throws to keep it a two-possession game, but Hohn missed two free throws at the other end and Darrion Trammell — back in the game after leaving it with a sprained ankle — followed it with a 3.
The Aztecs called timeout to set up the press. The inbounds pass was tipped, Reese Waters grabbed the ball, and Trammell launched another 3.
And missed. But Pal got the offensive rebound and soon Parrish had the ball in the paint, banking in a layup and drawing contract.
Dutcher started freshman Mile Heide in LeDee’s place, but at practice Friday he wondered aloud who might “step up” in the 6-foot-9, 240-pound senior’s absence.
The answer: Pal, the Campbell transfer.
He is 6-9, but that’s where the physical similarities to LeDee end. Pal is more of a perimeter slasher who can handle the ball but gets pushed around inside with his 185-pound frame.
He had eight points by intermission, surpassing his previous season high, and finished with a team-high 15 to go with four rebounds and two assists. The Aztecs were plus-10 with him on the floor. (The next best on the team was plus-four.)
Jay Pal scored a season-high in points.
(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Parrish added 14, Waters had 11 and Trammell had 10. Lamont Butler’s offensive slumber continued, finishing with two points on 1 of 7 shooting.
After spending the last two days of practice working on defense, and then working on more defense, the Aztecs opened the game by allowing UC Irvine to make its first three shots — a pair of 3s and a basket off a drive through the line where Elijah Saunders didn’t slide over to help.
Dutcher had seen enough and angrily motioned for the timeout, stepping into the court to berate Saunders and his teammates.
On the Anteaters’ next possession, freshman center Carter Welling grabbed an offensive rebound, scored and was fouled. His free throw made it 11-5.
But the Aztecs settled down and all that defensive work paid off. The Anteaters went 4 of 5 to open the half, then 4 of their next 28.
It was a 33-24 at halftime. Then three baskets by Saunder and an 0-for-5 start by UC Irvine pushed the margin to 16 and coach Russell Turner, known in basketball circles for having a bit of temper, was in full meltdown mode.
San Diego State guard Micah Parrish (3) and UC Irvine guard Ofure Ujadughele (10) attempt to grab the rebound.
(Meg McLaughlin/The San Diego Union-Tribune)
After a double technical foul was called on Parrish and Irvine’s Justin Hohn, Turner turned to the courtside Fox Sports 1 commentators seated next to his bench and repeatedly screamed: “So terrible, so terrible. Unqualified referee.”
But just as a technical foul against Cal coach Mark Madsen invigorated his team to rally from 12 down and force overtime, Turner’s outburst seemed to have the same effect on the Anteaters. A 17-4 run — much of it by freshman Turkish guard Derin Saran — tied it, and Dutcher called timeout as Viejas Arena groaned.
Then Saran scored again, on a contested leaner in the lane, and the Anteaters were eating, up 50-48. Then Hohn (16 points) banked in a contested 3 with 58 seconds left — their second banked-in 3 of the game — and the Aztecs were down five.
Notable
Next up: a 10-day break for final exams before hosting NAIA Saint Katherine on Dec. 19 … After rarely being assigned to SDSU home games for the past few years, NFL referee Bill Vinovich has worked three of the first four at Viejas Arena this season … Pal was assessed his second foul with 12:15 left in the first half and, per usual with Dutcher, went to the bench, presumably for the remainder of the half. During a timeout 4½ minutes later, the officials determined the foul was actually on Parrish, so Pal had only one. He quickly checked back in the game and made a 3 … Jurian Dixon, the CIF San Diego Section player of the year from St. Augustine, is a freshman at UC Irvine but is redshirting this season … Best sign in the student section: “Eating ants is weird.”
