SDSU's Lamont Butler: Felt sister's presence on game winner

HOUSTON — The day after hitting the biggest shot of the 2023 NCAA men's basketball tournament, San Diego State junior Lamont Butler reflected on the meaning of the moment to he and his family.

Butler's sister, Asasha Lache Hall, was shot and killed in January 2022. Butler said on Sunday at NRG Stadium that he felt his sister's presence in the game-winning 17-foot buzzer-beater that was the difference in No. 5 San Diego State's 72-71 victory over No. 9 Florida Atlantic on Saturday night.

«I think about her every day,» Butler said. «Ever since she passed. She was one of my biggest supporters, and I know she's up there happy right now, watching me play the game that I love. And I think she was with me with that shot. She probably guided the ball in a little bit. I miss her, and I'm just happy I'm able to do this for her.»

Butler reflected back to when he heard the news of his sister's passing. He said he channeled much of his emotion around her death into the sport and his team.

«I just truly decided that basketball was going to make me happy again,» he said. «It was a crazy moment in my life to even hear that my sister had passed. But my teammates and my coaches, they gave me time to just decide what I wanted to do. They said if I didn't want to come back and play, they were fine with that as well. So they just made me comfortable, and they're also like my second family.»

Nearly 20 of Butler's friends and family members came to Houston for the Final Four. His father, Lamont Butler Sr., said the trip out was expensive for everyone but said the «reward» came from seeing his son hit the shot.

Lamont Butler said he got a chance to spend time with his father and all his family members in the hotel on Saturday night.

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