He took two dribbles and swished the next one.
Baylor Scheierman, who played quarterback in high school, inbounded the ball and threw a long pass toward Kaluma and San Diego State’s Aguek Arop near the other endline. They tipped the ball out of bounds as the buzzer sounded. The officials, though, waved both teams back to their benches and reviewed the play to see who had touched the ball last and whether there was any time left.
After a few minutes, they ruled that time had expired. San Diego State players sprinted onto the court to celebrate.
San Diego State guard Lamont Butler had 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting, and was set to take the final shot until Creighton fouled him with six seconds left, forcing the Aztecs to take the ball out of bounds but also resetting the shot clock.
Trammell, a transfer from Seattle University who had scored 21 points to help carry San Diego State to an upset of top-seeded Alabama on Friday, had made only 5 of his 14 shot attempts and had not been to the free-throw line until the final second.
The game unfolded as a contrast of styles, Creighton’s artful, free-flowing offense finding its way against San Diego State’s muscular, methodical brand of basketball.
The game was played largely at San Diego State’s preferred pace, but Creighton played almost exclusively with the lead, fending off repeated Aztec charges.
After Creighton surged to a 28-20 lead, urged on by a largely blue-clad crowd, San Diego State finally figured out how to keep the Bluejays’ 7-foot-1 center, Ryan Kalkbrenner, from having his way diving to the rim for alley-oops or putting his nifty post moves to use. Nathan Mensah, San Diego State’s 6-foot-10 senior center, did yeoman’s work against Kalkbrenner, who led Creighton with 17 points.
