By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

SAN ANTONIO - Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt asked his players who should take the shot that could send the Yellow Jackets to the national championship game.

Georgia Tech's national semifinal opponent, Oklahoma State, had fought back to tie the score in the final minute Saturday at Alamodome, and No. 3 seed Georgia Tech needed an answer. Senior Marvin Lewis didn't hesitate.

He nominated Will Bynum.

Georgia Tech's Will Bynum goes up for the game-wining shot as Oklahoma State's Ivan McFarlin (23) tries to defend in the closing seconds. (AP photo)

So coming out of the timeout, Bynum controlled the ball with a little more than 10 seconds left.

Bynum got a ball screen at the top of the key from center Luke Schenscher, drove past Oklahoma State's John Lucas and ducked under Ivan McFarlin. By now Bynum was within mere feet of the basket, and he pushed the ball upward, off the glass and through the net with 1.5 seconds left.

Georgia Tech 67, Oklahoma State 65.

Lucas' desperation full-court heave flew wide of the basket and Georgia Tech (28-9) celebrated in front of 44,417 Alamodome fans, knowing it will be playing in its first national championship game Monday. No. 2 seed Oklahoma State (31-4) sulked off the floor, despondent by what happened after it had come back from a 37-30 halftime deficit.

"Coach said, 'Get the ball with about 10 seconds left,'" Bynum said. "'Run a screen and roll, and if somebody in the frontcourt is open, get them the ball. If not, take the shot.' In my mind, I was thinking 'take the shot' the whole time."

That's the type of attitude Hewitt hoped he was getting from Bynum when the 6-0 junior guard transferred to Georgia Tech from Arizona in the middle of last year. Georgia Tech got to the Final Four because it is an unselfish team with a 10-man rotation and no superstars. But the Yellow Jackets got past Oklahoma State because Bynum, who doesn't even start, is 185 pounds of pure confidence.

"Will is a guy that thinks he can take anybody in the country," Hewitt said. "Sometimes it works in his favor. Sometimes it doesn't."

Saturday, it wasn't completely working for Bynum until that last shot. He scored 11 points, but missed a layup with a minute and a half remaining that would have given Georgia Tech a five-point lead. Instead it left room for Oklahoma State to tie the game.

Lucas, one-half of the Cowboys' potent backcourt, had been quiet for the first 20 minutes, but hit the game-tying 3-pointer with 26.3 seconds left, prompting the Georgia Tech timeout.

Lewis, who made five first-half 3-pointers but hadn't scored at all in the second half, told Hewitt to give the ball to Bynum and let him create something.

"In that situation, you want to put the ball in somebody's hand and let them break down the defense," Hewitt said. "If you put the ball in Will Bynum's hands, give him a ball screen, something good will happen."

Fifteen months ago, Hewitt wasn't even sure he would have Bynum on his team for this moment. Bynum called him and told Hewitt he had chosen Georgia Tech over (coincidentally) Oklahoma State as the school he was going to transfer to from Arizona. But that same night, Hewitt was watching ESPN, which reported that Bynum had decided to go to Oklahoma State.

The phone rang later that night at Hewitt's home. It was Bynum.

"What are you doing, I thought you were going to Oklahoma State," Hewitt asked Bynum. "He said, 'Coach, don't listen to those reports. I'm coming to Georgia Tech.' We're lucky he made that decision."

Bynum got the opportunity to make what he called the biggest shot of his life, a dream shot, because of Georgia Tech's balance, which Oklahoma State could not contain. Lewis broke out for 15 first-half points, all on 3s, and opened the interior for Schenscher, the 7-foot-1 center, in the second half. Schenscher scored 12 of his game-high 19 points in the second half, keeping Georgia Tech's lead in the five-to-eight-point margin for most of the second half.

"That's what helped my game inside," said Schenscher, who recorded a double-double with 12 rebounds. "No one could help off of (Lewis) when he was making those shots."

As for Bynum's shot, it's probably a play that Lucas, the Big 12 co-Player of the Year along with teammate Tony Allen probably won't soon forget.

Said Lucas, who finished with 11 points: "I'm just hurt right now. I just put all the blame on me. I was supposed to lock up, and I didn't. That's basically all you can say."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

GEORGIA TECH (28-9)-Elder 1-4 0-0 2, McHenry 3-5 0-0 6, Schenscher 9-13 1-3 19, Jack 2-6 5-6 10, Lewis 5-9 0-0 15, Muhammad 1-3 2-2 4, Bynum 3-6 4-5 11, Moore 0-1 0-0 0, Tarver 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 24-49 12-16 67.

OKLAHOMA ST. (31-4)-J.Graham 6-12 5-7 17, McFarlin 6-11 4-7 16, Lucas 4-14 1-2 11, Bobik 1-5 1-2 4, Allen 3-5 6-6 13, S.Graham 1-1 0-0 2, Weatherspoon 1-1 0-0 2, Miller 0-0 0-1 0, Crawford 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-50 17-25 65.

Halftime-Georgia Tech 37-30. 3-Point Goals-Georgia Tech 7-17 (Lewis 5-9, Bynum 1-2, Jack 1-2, McHenry 0-1, Elder 0-3), Oklahoma St. 4-15 (Lucas 2-8, Allen 1-1, Bobik 1-5, J.Graham 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Georgia Tech 29 (Schenscher 12), Oklahoma St. 33 (J.Graham 10). Assists-Georgia Tech 16 (Jack 5), Oklahoma St. 10 (Allen 4). Total fouls-Georgia Tech 19, Oklahoma St. 15. A-44,417.