Lamont Butler has become a local legend.
With two seconds left on the clock, he beat the buzzer with a jump shot that won San Diego State's (SDSU) Final Four contest with Florida Atlantic.
And just like that, the Aztec’s number five did what some thought was impossible, or what a broadcaster calling the game called "a San Diego State miracle!"
Butler made the basket heard around the basketball world, making SDSU Aztec history and allowing the team to play for the first time ever in the NCAA championship on Monday night.
But you wouldn't know it by Butler's humble reaction during an interview after the game.
"Once I looked up, it was two seconds left, I knew I had to make a shot. I got to a shot I'm comfortable with, went to a pull-up. I'm just glad it went in," Butler said.
He’s just glad it went in, and nearly all of San Diego was too. Not to mention his coach, Brian Dutcher.
"Most guys dream of making one of those plays and he's made a couple already this year, and on as big a stage as there is in the national semifinals. To make that shot was incredible," Dutcher said.
While most fans had to watch from home, Brian Drum, better known as "Fiend," a local sports personality on the Sons of Montezuma podcast, got to live that moment at the stadium in Houston.
"San Diegans are just so hyped up about this, and I can't even express how unbelievable that experience was after he hit that shot," Drum said. "I was hugging total strangers."
He called it the "best feeling" he's ever had as a sports fan.
He said the victory was so sweet for those who believed in Butler, and know his journey that has been anything but easy.
"Lamont's a household name now but you look at what Lamont's had to overcome in the last year: He lost his sister who was murdered. He broke his wrist during the season," Drum said.
The grit of the young athlete who made that shot comes from California’s Inland Empire, a place where the working class live, who are often discounted and overlooked. That underdog status strengthens the bond some San Diego fans have with Butler.
Often athletes themselves choose to say they're from other nearby areas, despite the fact that other greats have hailed from the Inland Empire in this and other sports. One athlete in particular shares the same hometown of Moreno Valley, attended Riverside schools, and even went to SDSU where he was drafted into the NBA: Kawhi Leonard.
The grit of the young athlete who made that shot comes from California’s Inland Empire, a place where the working class live, who are often discounted and overlooked ... that underdog status strengthens the bond some San Diego fans have with Butler.
"I think the fans of San Diego State basketball carry that same chip on their shoulder. We don't get national recognition," Drum said. "All the national sports experts have been picking against San Diego State since the beginning of the tournament."
"He is just an unbelievable kid," said Justin Downer, his high school basketball coach from Riverside Poly. "It was so emotional. I am so proud of him."
Downer also was in Houston to watch the history-making shot, along with his parents, cousins and friends who played with him at his high school.
He said this sport has not come easy to Lamont.
"He was always a past first guy in high school, so what you saw, a game winning shot, like that's not someone that was born with that ability. That's someone that's put in hours and hours and worked and worked to define his skill," said Downer.
Everyone who talks about Butler speaks of his humility, level headedness and work ethic and wonderful family.
"He's a great human being," Drum said. "He does the right things, on and off the court and we're just happy to be riding this journey with him and seeing where he goes and we'll be supporting him the entire way."
Downer adds that no matter what happens in the championship game, Butler is already a champ where it counts — off the court. Because of that, the sky's the limit.
"We saw the greatness in Lamont. We knew he had that ability to rise up in these tense moments, on a big stage and we're just so proud of him," Downer said. "Everyone that Lamont Butler comes in contact with is a better person and inspired after meeting him, even if this shot didn't go in, that's who he is without that shot."
