The game clock hit zero.
The final score read “Florida Gulf Coast University 81, San Diego State 71.”
As the Eagles rushed to midcourt to celebrate, SDSU senior guard Chase Tapley found FGCU senior guard Sherwood Brown to congratulate him on the win.
“I just told him, ‘Don’t stop now, keep going. We were in that same position two years ago, so just keep it rolling.’ That’s all I said. I said ‘good luck,’” Tapley said following the loss.
It’s not a common gesture by a senior who just played in his final college basketball, but that’s what made Tapley so inspirational on and off the court.
As a result, Tapley is The Daily Aztec’s Male Athlete of the Month for March.
By all accounts, Tapley goes into SDSU basketball record books as one of the best players in program history.
A four-year starter, including his sophomore season when the Aztecs finished with a 34-3 record and a berth in the Sweet 16, Tapley is the only player in school history to play in the NCAA Tournament in four different seasons.
The Sacramento native finished the season averaging 13.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while shooting 80.3 percent from the free-throw line. His scoring, assists, steals and free-throw percentages ranked second on the team, according to goaztecs.com.
For his efforts, Tapley was named to the All-Mountain West Conference third team and National Association of Basketball Coaches All-District 17 second team. It is the second consecutive year Tapley has been honored by both groups.
But it was in March when Tapley really excelled. Against Boise State University in the MWC Tournament quarterfinals, Tapley scored 17 points and had a team-high four steals to help the Aztecs advance to the semifinals.
In the NCAA Tournament, Tapley helped the Aztecs to their third-ever tournament win with a 70-55 victory against the University of Oklahoma.
“It feels good,” Tapley said. “I mean, it just feels like you put in all that hard work during the season, the preseason and the regular season, and you get that win. It’s as if you made history. It’s just a great feeling.”
In the third round of the NCAA Tournament against FGCU, Tapley scored 17 points, but it was not enough as the Aztecs fell to the Eagles 81-71 to finish the season 23-11 overall.
