ORLANDO, FLA. – A gutsy defensive effort by College of Charleston fell just short Thursday in a 63-57 loss to San Diego State in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament at the Amway Center in Orlando.

The Cougars saw one of the greatest seasons in school history end at 31-4 while the Aztecs (28-6) move on to face Furman, which upset Virginia earlier in the day.

Charleston erased a nine-point second half deficit, pulling even at 53 on a steal and bucket by Ante Brzovic with 3:27 remaining. The Aztecs responded by rebuilding a five-point lead on a 3-pointer by Micah Parrish and made five of seven free throws the rest of the way to seal the win.  

The SDSU defense limited Charleston to 23 points below its season average of 80.2 and held the Cougars to a season-low 32.1 percent shooting from the floor. Brzovic led the Cougars with 12 points and eight rebounds, followed by Ryan Larson with 11 points and Dalton Bolon with 10.

In addition to his usual outstanding job of spearheading the Charleston defense, Jaylon Scott contributed nine points, seven rebounds and four assists. 

Matt Bradley scored a game-high 17 points, the only Aztec to reach double figures. 

The Cougars forced seven turnovers in the first seven minutes while taking an early 13-6 lead. Charleston still led 24-17 after a Babacar Faye jumper before SDSU went on a 15-5 run to go into halftime with a 32-29 lead.

The Aztecs continued their surge after the break and took a 45-36 lead with 12:36 left. As they had all season, the resilient Cougars battled back on 3-pointers by Bolon and Raekwon Horton and consecutive baskets by Scott to get back in contention.