LAS VEGAS — Standout Colorado State forward Andy Ogide left the building, ejected from the Mountain West Conference Tournament quarterfinal with 6:27 to go in the first half.
The rest of the Rams more than hung around until the final buzzer, when Travis Busch’s desperation shot fell far off the mark.
A disastrous sequence in the final 35 seconds left CSU on the short end of a 72-71 fray with No. 4 seed San Diego State. The Rams led precariously 71-70 thanks to Dorian Green’s final three points of the night. The Aztecs’ D.J. Gay then stepped to the line for the game-winning free throws with 23.6 ticks left.
Then a Green turnover and Busch’s miss prevented the Rams from surviving.
“I told (CSU coach Tim Miles): ‘We got lucky. Your team deserved to win. Our team did not deserve to lose, but your team plays with a fervor that I know you liked to see,’ ” San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said.
Barring a call Sunday from the CBI or Tournament, the Rams’ season is over.
After Ogide was tossed for throwing an elbow at 6-foot-11, 297-pound center Brian Carlwell, Green kept CSU in contention. The freshman emerged from a late-season slump with 12 points.
Of the key turnover, he said: “I think personally for me it’s going to kind of kill me, because I think I didn’t want to turn the ball over. I probably should have shot it.”
Green drew a crowd when he went up for the would-be go-ahead score and passed the ball instead. It flew out of bounds with 6.7 seconds left.
After two missed Aztecs foul shots, Busch’s long shot missed.
Instead of collapsing without Ogide, a second-team all-MWC pick, the Rams rallied.
“I just told the rest of the team somebody has to step up, someone else has to make the plays that Andy would make,” said Adam Nigon, who led the Rams with 18 points.
The Rams’ outside shooting was solid, with Green and Nigon a combined 6-of-10 beyond the arc.
San Diego State isn’t guaranteed to hear its name Sunday when the NCAA Tournament field is announced, but the Aztecs avoided almost sure elimination from at-large consideration. The MWC is hoping to get four teams in the NCAA Tournament for the first time.
San Diego State (23-8) advances to the semifinals against top-seeded New Mexico (29-3) tonight.
Collegeinsider Tournament director Riley Wallace earlier said CSU had been under consideration until losing 70-39 to UNLV last month.
FG FT Reb
COLO. ST. Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Franklin 30 3-5 3-5 4-7 3 4 9
Busch 29 2-6 1-2 3-6 1 1 5
Ogide 9 3-4 0-0 1-4 1 3 6
Nigon 34 7-12 0-0 1-2 1 2 18
Green 39 4-9 2-3 0-1 4 1 12
Bocar Ba 24 4-9 1-1 3-5 0 4 9
Hornung 15 1-4 0-0 1-1 1 3 3
McFarland 3 1-2 0-0 1-1 1 0 2
Annese 1 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 0
Smith 16 3-6 0-0 0-1 2 0 7
Totals 200 28-57 7-11 16-30 15 18 71
Percentages: FG .491, FT .636. 3-point goals: 8-15, .533 (Nigon 4-7, Green 2-3, Hornung 1-1, Smith 1-2, McFarland 0-1, Busch 0-1). Team rebounds: 2. Blocked shots: 2 (Smith, Green). Turnovers: 17 (Nigon 4, Smith 4, Green 2, Ogide 2, Hornung, Bocar Ba, McFarland, Franklin). Steals: 6 (Franklin 2, Smith, Hornung, Busch, Green). Technical fouls: Bocar Ba, Ogide, CSU bench.
FG FT Reb
S. DIEGO ST. Min M-A M-A O-T A PF PTS
Thomas 35 6-8 3-6 4-7 4 2 15
Leonard 26 6-15 0-0 3-6 2 5 12
White 31 6-11 3-6 2-4 3 1 15
Gay 40 1-5 5-6 0-2 3 2 7
Davis 22 0-2 0-2 0-0 1 2 0
Shelley 12 1-2 1-1 0-0 1 2 3
Carlwell 13 1-1 3-4 0-4 0 3 5
Tapley 21 6-7 2-3 1-3 2 1 15
Totals 200 27-51 17-28 11-27 16 18 72
Percentages: FG .529, FT .607. 3-point goals: 1-10, .100 (Tapley 1-2, Davis 0-2, Leonard 0-3, Gay 0-3). Team rebounds: 1. Blocked shots: 5 (Thomas 3, Leonard, Carlwell). Turnovers: 13 (Thomas 3, Gay 2, Leonard 2, Carlwell 2, White 2, Davis, Shelley). Steals: 9 (White 3, Leonard 3, Davis 2, Shelley). Technical fouls: None.
Colorado St. 33 38 — 71
San Diego St. 41 31 — 72
A — 11,031. Officials — Eric Curry, Dan Chrisman, Ken Nielson.
