[Stardust]

Tyler Wesley's three-point play with 3.9 seconds left accounted for his only points Friday. They were the biggest points, though, lifting Oldham County over Knott County Central 36-34 in the quarterfinals of the PNC/KHSAA Boys' State Tournament.

"I was confident in myself to take the last shot," said Wesley, a 6-foot-6 senior who averages 11.2 points. "Because I'd rather have the ball in my hands and control my own destiny. I thought I could make it, and it just turned out that I did.

"I was hoping they didn't call a charge on me because I'd gotten some tough calls earlier."

The Colonels (31-5) advanced to the final four for the third time in school history, and for the first time since 1985.

Rated by Dave Cantrall as No. 5 among Sweet Sixteen teams, Oldham tied the school record for wins in a season.

Defense has been a big reason why. The Colonels were the toughest team in the state to score against, limiting opponents to 45 points a game.

It was no different Friday.

Oldham held Knott Central to 2-for-17 (11.8 percent) shooting in the first half and 8-for-28 (28.6) overall.

Oldham shot just a bit better, 11-for-35 (31.4).

"They basically had us spread it out so far, and those shots weren't falling," Knott Coach B.B. King said of his team's first-half shooting. "... We took some bad shots. Awful bad shots."

Jacob Kopp led the winners with nine points, and Garrett Masters had seven. Kerry Smith grabbed nine rebounds and scored five points.

Wesley, hampered by early fouls, played only 19 minutes.

"It's really frustrating, I'm not going to lie," he said of his time on the bench. "But I just knew I was going to come back in eventually, and I knew, when I came in, I'd have to make a difference somehow, and it just turned out to be in the last three seconds of the game."

No. 13 Knott Central (29-6) got a 14-point, 10-rebound effort from its lone senior starter, Zack Davis.

"The toughest competitor that we've probably played against this year," Oldham Coach Jason Holland said of Davis, who nearly forced overtime.

Tied at 30, Oldham seized the lead when Kopp hit a three-pointer from the top of the key with 2:00 left. Until then, Kopp was 0-for-4 from long range.

"I don't know why they wouldn't guard Jacob, but I looked at him, and I said 'stick it in his face,' " Holland said. "Just that simple. I wanted him to shoot the ball."

Davis hit both halves of a one-and-one with 1:22 left, then fouled Smith with 1:03 on the clock.

Smith missed, Davis grabbed the rebound and, with 48 seconds left, made one of two free throws to tie.

The Colonels held the ball for a last shot.

Wesley, from near the top of the key, slashed down the lane to score and draw the foul.

"We ran a backdoor, and (Holland) told me to fake it to Sam (Gruber)," Wesley said. "So I faked it and then turned around, and (a defender) was on me a little bit, so I pump-faked and tried to drive by."

Davis was fouled with three seconds left.

He made one free throw, then intentionally shot the second hard off the front of the rim.

Davis snared the rebound, went up to shoot and was fouled with 2.3 seconds left.

This time, he missed the first shot.

A second intentional miss came close to working again — Davis got a hand on the ball but couldn't control it.

The Patriots finished 15-for-29 at the free-throw line, while Oldham was 12-for-18.

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/03/16/21141...rylink=cpy