Lucas' grand finale eliminated by late Bynum bucket

Georgia Tech's final layup wiped out Oklahoma State's late magic.
SAN ANTONIO (AP) -- The miracle endings ran out for John Lucas.
He hit a 3-pointer to tie it in the final seconds, but gave up the winning layup to Will Bynum with 1.5 seconds left in Oklahoma State's 67-65 loss to Georgia Tech in the semifinals Saturday.
It was Lucas' thrilling, last-second 3-pointer in the regional final against Saint Joseph's that got the Cowboys this far.
He tried to muster up some magic again, but to no avail.
The son of the former NBA star and coach with the same name finished with 11 points on 4-for-14 shooting. He was 2-of-8 from 3-point range.
"It's tough because I failed," Lucas said. "All year I've been achieving my goals and when it came to the biggest one I failed."
Sutton drought remains
Meanwhile, Eddie Sutton fell short in the Final Four -- again.
The nation's second-winningest coach still won't be able to add a national championship appearance to his considerable resume after three tries. But this still qualifies as one of the 68-year-old's best coaching jobs.
Sutton brought together a team of seven transfers, including Lucas who fled scandal-plagued Baylor last summer, and won Oklahoma State's first outright conference title since 1965. The Cowboys also became the first Big 12 regular-season champs to win the postseason tournament since Iowa State in 2000.
Sutton even made it to his third Final Four and second in Stillwater since Bryant "Big Country" Reeves led the Cowboys there in 1995.
Alas, Sutton still couldn't get to the Monday night game.
"Part of you feels a little bit bad for him," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said.
Lucas nearly got his coach there a game after hitting a last-second 3-pointer to lead Oklahoma State to a victory over Saint Joseph's in the East Rutherford Regional final.
He made a 3-pointer with 26.3 seconds left -- from almost the same spot as he did in the previous game -- to tie it at 65. It was the first time the Cowboys had been that close since midway through the first half.
The Oklahoma State fans leaped to their feet and filled the Alamodome with cheers, sensing Lucas could summon another second-half miracle to keep their championship dreams alive.
"When he hit that shot, we knew we had a chance to go to overtime," forward Ivan McFarlin said. "We felt really good. We fought a long battle and had a chance to win the war."
Bynum ended all of that by driving right around Lucas and hitting the basket that sent Georgia Tech to its first championship game.
Costly errors
Ultimately, Lucas couldn't make up for several costly errors in the waning minutes.
He shot an airball on an awkward jumper down the stretch, misfired on a 3 that would have pulled Oklahoma State within a point, missed a free throw with 1:52 to go and mishandled a pass.
Then, of course, he let Bynum get right by him at the end.
It was an ironic twist to an improbable postseason run for the Cowboys.
Bynum, who transferred from Arizona last year, turned down the chance to join former high school teammate Tony Allen in Stillwater because there wasn't a scholarship available until the next year. That left a spot for Lucas.
Taking it all in from a few rows up in the stands, Lucas' famous father watched stonefaced as Georgia Tech celebrated at center court.
Lucas wasn't the only Cowboy to struggle against the Yellow Jackets' smothering defense -- the nation's top shooting team made only 39 percent of its baskets. It was Oklahoma State's third-worst game of the season.
Allen, the team's leading scorer, scored 13 points on 3-of-5 shooting, committed five turnovers and was in foul trouble for much of the game.
"I can really explain that," Allen said. "In the first half, I didn't come ready to play."
Joey Graham led Oklahoma State with 17 points and 10 rebounds, and Farlin added 16 points and eight rebounds.