SDSU Lets This Game Slip Away : Aztecs Have Lead With 15 Seconds Left, but Lose to Utah

In terms of artistic value, it was about the equivalent of a preschool finger-painting class.

San Diego State and Utah played a basketball game Saturday night that seemed to be a matter of who wanted to win the least. And in the end, that team was SDSU.

The Aztecs blew a three-point lead in the final 15 seconds as they lost to Utah, 59-58, before 2,972 fans at the Sports Arena.

This time, put the emphasis on the fact that SDSU blew the game.

When Utah called timeout with 28 seconds remaining, the Aztecs were leading, 58-55. Coach Smokey Gaines told his players not to foul, so they didn’t.

What resulted was that Utah center Mitch Smith scored on an uncontested rebound with 14 seconds remaining. The score: SDSU 58, Utah 57.

During an ensuing timeout, Utah Coach Lynn Archibald told his players to deny the inbounds pass, or foul the first SDSU player who had the ball. The Utes did not need to utilize either strategy.

Instead, the Aztecs attempted a surprise play by having John Martens throw a three-quarters of the court pass to Anthony Watson. But Utah’s Albert Springs tipped an errant pass to teammate Bobby Adair, and the Utes called timeout with eight seconds remaining.

Why the long pass in that situation? “We’ve been winning on those plays all year long,” Gaines said of his 7-15 team. “Wat was being guarded by a player who is kind of slow. We thought we could outrun him.”

Watson did outrun Springs. By Watson’s estimation, the pass by Martens was “about one inch” too short.

With eight seconds remaining, Utah had just enough time to set up a play from midcourt. The Utes got the ball to leading scorer Jerry Stroman, who was fouled on the drive by Bobby Owens with four seconds remaining. SDSU personnel claimed that Owens never touched Stroman, but the Utes--and more importantly, the officials--disagreed.

After an SDSU timeout, Stroman calmly sank both free throws to win the game.

“You do a little hoping and praying in that situation,” Archibald said. “We’ve been there before and missed. Those were great pressure shots by Jerry.”

After Stroman’s free throws, SDSU had four seconds to score from full court. Archibald said his team was expecting a long pass this time, and SDSU tried another long one. Martens threw pass intended for Watson that went directly to Springs.

The game was over, and Utah had raised its record to 6-4 in the Western Athletic Conference and 14-8 overall. SDSU is 6-6 and 7-15.

Afterward, the Aztecs were crushed. Martens sat in front of his locker and wept. Michael Brunker, an assistant coach, said neither Martens nor Owens wanted to talk.

The talking was left to Watson, who had scored a game-high 21 points.

“It’s hard to lose when you have a ballgame in the pocket like that,” Watson said. “It hurts. Games like this keep you awake for about two or three days.”

For much of the night, the game was enough to put most fans asleep. They probably would have had more fun standing outside in the rain, where the street pavement was no more sloppy than the basketball game being played inside.

Utah’s sloppiness was best demonstrated by uncontested dunk attempts that were missed by Springs and Adair. SDSU’s effort could be summarized in 18 turnovers and an 8-of-16 night at the free-throw line.

Even the officials got into the act. They twice pointed the wrong way when the ball went out-of-bounds, only to correct themselves so that the right team would have possession.

If nothing else, at least the score kept the game somewhat interesting. The teams were tied at halftime, 34-34.