For San Diego sports fans that grew up rooting for the local teams in this city, blowing leads is an unfortunate stereotype for teams representing the city. The Chargers, Padres, Aztecs, etc. San Diego teams seem to always be so close to making a statement on a national stage, but for one reason or another, a collapse becomes inevitable.
The Aztecs lose in heart-breaking fashion at the Dickies Arena Thursday night against Creighton, blowing a nine point lead with just over 2 minutes to go in the game, leading to an overtime period in which they gave away a good opportunity to seal the victory.
The night seemed like it was going in favor of the Aztecs for the most part Thursday night, with SDSU's bench outscoring Creighton's by 30-1. They even had a 14-point lead during the first half of the game, nearly up by double-digits with less than 3 minutes left in regulation, and the boom. The collapse happened.
Aztecs head coach Brian Dutcher says this type of humiliating losses are simply part of the ecstasy that comes with this annual tournament.
“The agony and ecstasy of March,” coach Brian Dutcher stated. “I thought we competed at a high level, put ourselves in a position to win. … It’s just part of life. You’re not always going to get what you want. But that doesn’t mean you don’t work for it, doesn’t mean you don’t want it. Sometimes you just don’t get it.”
Near the end of regulation, SDSU had the opportunity to still come out with the victory, however, Matt Bradley was sent to the free-throw line for a one-on-one opportunity, in which he missed, and then came overtime as of result. After the game, Bradley expressed that he wishes he could take time back to capitalize on that chance to seal the deal.
“All I can really remember is, it was a tie game,” Bradley said of that opportunity. “I was at the free-throw line, and I ended up missing the one-on-one and that sent us into overtime. Just wish I could have made those free throws.”
With this heart-breaking loss, the SDSU Aztecs have now lost four straight NCAA Tournament basketball games, with the last victory being back in 2015 vs St. John's University.
