Franklin hits last-second shot for San Diego State win over Boise State
After letting an 11-point, second-half lead over Boise State slip away Thursday, San Diego State called timeout to talk about what to do on its final possession of a tie game.
Little discussion was necessary.
Jamaal Franklin, the Mountain West Conference Player of the Year, was going to have the ball in his hands and decide whether the 18th-ranked Aztecs were going to win in regulation or head to overtime in the opening game of the MWC tournament.
Franklin thought about driving to the basket, much like he did on a game-winning shot in a similar situation against UNLV in January. But he encountered a double team and had to force up a 3-pointer with two defenders in his face.
The ball rattled in as the horn sounded, helping the top-seeded Aztecs survive a quarterfinal scare with a 65-62 victory over eighth-seeded Boise State at the Thomas & Mack Center.
"I believed in myself. I always practice the last shot. When it left my hand, I felt it was going in," Franklin said. "My first object was to get to the rim. They kind of double-teamed me, and I just shot the 3.
"Blessing to God, it went in."
San Diego State (25-6) will play fourth-seeded Colorado State (20-10) at 6 p.m. in semifinal action today.
The Broncos (13-17) knew what was coming on the final play and did everything they could to prevent Franklin’s heroics.
"Everyone in the gym knew who the last shot was going to," Boise State guard Derrick Marks said. "I went over to double him. He just made an incredible shot."
Franklin finished with 19 points and five rebounds. Aztecs guard Chase Tapley led all scorers with 20 points and added four assists and four steals, but he committed one key turnover that could have cost San Diego State the game.
After two Anthony Drmic free throws cut the Aztecs’ lead to 62-60 with 37 seconds left, Tapley was trapped in the corner deep on his end of the floor. Instead of calling a timeout, he tried to throw the ball along the baseline to Xavier Thames in the other corner. Boise State got the ball in the scramble after Thames tried to keep it inbounds, and Broncos forward Thomas Bropleh got wide open underneath for a layup to tie the game with 27 seconds left.
"We’re proud of the fact that we’re still here, and we know that (today) will also be very difficult," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. "But we feel good about our team, and we will be ready to play tomorrow."
Boise State led throughout the first half, stretching the advantage to as many as nine points before a late Aztecs surge cut the Broncos’ halftime lead to 32-30. The game went back and forth until an 18-4 run midway through the second half put San Diego State up 57-46 with 6:45 to play.
Boise State rallied back, as Drmic scored nine of his 19 points down the stretch and assisted on Bropleh’s tying basket.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.