HOUSTON - "Anything can happen in March," said Johnell Davis, the sophomore guard at Florida Atlantic as he recalled the buzzer-beating dagger that ended his team's dreamy NCAA Final Four run.
Madness is a requisite this time of year in college hoops. Unfortunately for Davis and his peers, there's also sadness and pain that may linger until this spring turns into winter and another basketball season begins.
San Diego State University 72. Florida Atlantic University 71.
As gloom permeated within the FAU locker room, the walls inside the Aztecs' dugout was bursting with joy and promise as they looked forward to Monday (Tuesday AM in Manila) and play for the national championship for the first time in school history.
After one half of play and up until the 14:56 mark of the second half when they fell behind 54-40, San Diego's prospects looked a little dim.
And that's when coach Brian Dutcher summoned the stifling, unrelenting defense that had been the Aztecs' calling card in this tournament. And one more time, the magic worked.
San Diego held Florida to 17 points the rest of the way and held the Owls to just 23 of 52 shooting from the field overall while also holding FAU to a mere six assists for the entire game.
San Diego topped the battle of the boards as well, 35-34, helping them grind out a win from an uphill struggle where they trailed for 31:42 of the 40-minute contest.
Even then, all of that grunt work still needed a buzzer-beating 2-pointer by Lamont Butler to save the season.
GETTING IT DONE
"We found a way. Lamont found a way to make an incredible shot and send us to the next round," Dutcher said of the tightly-fought semifinals that saw seven lead changes and two ties.
Matt Bradley led San Diego with 21 points on 5-of-12 shooting including 4-of-8 from long distance. Jaedon LeDee had 12 and Butler finished with 9.
Alijah Martin, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound sophomore supplied much of the firepower spewing from FAU, logging 26 points on the strength of three triples and nine free throws made.

Nick Boyd chipped in 12 while Vladislav Goldin, a 7-foot-1, 245-pound big from Nalchick, Russia, added five points and four boards.
"We had a chance to win, and we lost the momentum,"rued Goldin, perhaps alluding to the Owls' late game collapse that was highlighted by botched free throws and bungled layups.
Those missed opportunities late which could have allowed FAU to seal the deal left them vulnerable to a game-winning sequence that has slain so many hopes and dreams in this historically bittersweet Final Four proceedings.
As the Aztecs prepare for the title game against the UConn Huskies, the FAU Owls will be left to ponder about that missed jumper in the last 18 ticks and Butler's conversion on the other end.
All of that sums up to what will be a very long summer.
FASTBREAK. As they exit the tournament, FAU can hold their heads high with the thought that they finished the 2022-23 season with a mighty 35-4 record.
Unless some key players enter the transfer portal or move on to the NBA, the Owls will be bringing back their core as only one senior, Michael Forrest, will leave the program after completing his engineering degree.
Going back to the Final Four is never easy, let alone guaranteed, but if FAU brings back the same talent next season, they have a great chance to return to the dance and architect a happier ending.
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