SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — San Diego State will face Yale in a second-round East Region game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament Sunday in Spokane, Washington following a 69-65 first-round victory over UAB.
The fifth-seeded Aztecs never trailed in the first half Friday, leading by as many as 11 and led 35-29 at halftime. San Diego State took its biggest lead, 44-32, three minutes, 31 seconds into the second half, following a 7-0 run that began and ended with baskets by Lamont Butler, one of two returning starters from last season's team that reached the Final Four for the first time in school history.
The 12th-seeded Blazers responded by scoring eight unanswered points to cut the deficit to 44-40 with 13 minutes, 22 seconds to play. UAB took its first lead, 51-49, with 9:54 left in the second half as Efrem "Butta" Johnson completed a 7-0 run with a short jump shot.
The Aztecs regained the lead by scoring six consecutive points -- the first four by Jaedon LeDee -- to move ahead 61-58 with 4:12 remaining. The Blazers tied the score for the final time, 62-62, on Eric Gaines' basket with 2:27 to play.
Neither team made a basket from that point on.
Butler's two free throws with 1:56 left gave San Diego State a 64-62 lead it did not relinquish.
UAB guard Alejandro Vasquez missed a free throw with 1:35 remaining that would have re-tied the score.
LeDee made two free throws with 1:00 to play that increased the Aztecs' lead to 66-63.
The Blazers missed three consecutive shots but Yaxel Lendeborg again grabbed the rebound after his second miss and made both free throws, cutting the deficit to 66-65 with 43 seconds left.
LeDee made two free throws to put San Diego State up 68-65 with 20 seconds remaining.
Johnson missed a 3-point shot with eight seconds left, LeDee grabbed the rebound and passed to Reese Waters, who was fouled and made the first free throw to seal the victory.
"We were fortunate to win," Aztecs coach Brian Dutcher said. "I told the team after the game that experience means something. I think all that experience we got last year paid off. When they came back, took a lead, we didn't panic, we stayed focused, we played hard, and we found a way to win."
LeDee, a 6-foot-9 senior forward who was a reserve last season, had 32 points and eight rebounds, both game highs, while Butler added 15 as San Diego State improved to 25-10.
The 32 points were a school record for an NCAA tournament game, topping the previous record of 30 set by Xavier Thames against North Dakota State on March 22, 2014.
"My teammates were finding me in the right spots at the right times," LeDee said after making 11 of 18 shots and nine of 10 free throws. "I just was hitting shots today."
Johnson led UAB (23-12) with 19 points, but had none in the final 9:53, missing both his shots, both 3-pointers. Gaines added 14 and Lendeborg 11.
"We had no answer for LeDee," Blazers coach Andy Kennedy said.
Yale advanced to the second round with a 78-76 victory over fourth- seeded Auburn. The Bulldogs, who are seeded 13th, are the second-lowest seed to win in the 2024 tournament, ahead of only Oakland, the 14th seed in the South Region, who defeated third-seeded Kentucky, 80-76, Thursday.
The San Diego State-Yale game will begin at 6:40 p.m. Sunday and be televised by TBS. ESPN BET has made the Aztecs a 5 1/2-point favorite. ESPN Analytics gives San Diego State a 68.2% chance of winning.
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