Crazy buzzer-beaters are used all the time to decide March Madness games. But not the buzzer for the first half.
On Thursday, UNLV was eliminated from the Mountain West tournament after losing 74-71 in overtime to San Diego State. The end of the first half, however, will haunt the Scarlet and Gray long into the offseason, despite the fact that the last minutes of regulation and the extra period were full of dramatic swings and game-changing plays.
UNLV led by eight points with halftime in sight when San Diego State was hit with a shot-clock violation. There were 1.6 seconds on the game clock, and Kevin Kruger called timeout to set up a fullcourt play.
Kruger tabbed senior wing Keylan Boone as the inbounder, but San Diego State pressured his outlets, leaving Boone with few good options. Boone eventually lofted a pass into no-man’s land beyond the top of the key, where Aztecs guard Darrion Trammell collected it and calmly sank an uncontested 3-pointer to send San Diego State into halftime with all the momentum.
San Diego State charged out of halftime and took the lead, and UNLV chased those three points the rest of the way.
D.J. Thomas scored six points in the final 30 seconds of regulation — including a game-tying flip shot with 0.5 seconds to play — and as the horn sounded and the game moved to a stunning overtime period, that first-half “what if” lingered.
UNLV scored the first four points of OT, but San Diego State stayed composed, as one would expect of a Final Four team. The Aztecs took the lead on a Lamont Butler drive with 10 seconds remaining; Thomas came up short on a finger roll, and Aztecs big man Jaedon LeDee made two free throws with 2.7 seconds left to extend the lead to three points.
Thomas took the ensuing inbound pass on the run, flew across halfcourt and into open space at the top of the key. He got off an uncontested look at a game-tying 3, but the shot was off-line as the buzzer sounded to end UNLV’s run in the Mountain West tournament.
Tied at the end of regulation. Down by three at the end of overtime. And a straight line drawn back to the disastrous final play of the first half.
Boone played a fierce game, going the full 45 minutes and posting 17 points and eight rebounds as UNLV’s undermanned frontcourt battled against San Diego State’s physical big men, but after the game he regretted, taking a risk on the inbound pass.
“A bonehead play by me,” Boone said. “There wasn’t really any real great shot we could have gotten, especially with our backs turned toward me and away from the rim. I was just trying to force a play that wasn’t there.”
