A Fairfax assistant shook his head, walking out of a silent, teary-eyed locker room. One filled with players thinking they had the game won.

``Hoosiers,'' he said, muttering to no one in particular. ``Damn Hoosiers.'' The storybook season continues at Oakton.

Cougars junior J.D. Morgan stuck in a missed shot at the buzzer, giving Oakton a 51-50 win over Fairfax at the Patriot Center on Friday. The Cougars (13-14) advance to Saturday night's Northern Region final against Hayfield and ex-Cougars coach Charlie Thompson.

Oakton coach Chris Kuhblank played for and coached with Thompson - and replaced him at Oakton. The Cougars, who have won 10 of their last 11 games, also earned a spot in the Group AAA State Tournament that starts next week.

Morgan snuck into position on the weakside and rebounded Jared Kubin's missed 10-footer for his first points of the game.

``All the defenders left me and I saw it bounce off the rim and I put it in,'' said Morgan, whose father, Dave, is the Oakton activities director. ``I wasn't even thinking about it. That layup was the easiest shot I had all game.''

``J.D. just came out of nowhere,'' Oakton junior Michael Harn said. ``That was the most amazing thing in the world.''

Moments later, Oakton's players hoisted Morgan onto their shoulders. But Morgan only did what he was told: when the shot goes up, crash the boards. Earlier this season, Oakton, with no senior starters, lost numerous close games en route to a 3-13 record.

That's changed. Friday was more proof.

``We finally got a little luck,'' Kuhblank said. ``We've had bad luck, now we've had good luck.'' Fifteen seconds earlier, Fairfax sophomore Marlon Wigenton drilled a three-pointer, giving the Rebels a 50-49 lead. Wigenton led Fairfax with 23 points, scoring 18 in the first half and all five Rebels' points in overtime.

Matt Harn led Oakton with 17 points, including a game-tying three-pointer with 39 seconds left in regulation. Kubin added 15.

Harn scored seven points in the fourth quarter, helping Oakton erase a 38-31 deficit with 7:20 left in the game.

``I felt like I was in the zone,'' Harn said. ``Coach got on me a couple times for shooting, but I knew we had guys underneath who could rebound if I missed.''

Fairfax (20-7) led, 40-35, with 5:46 left after David Will scored inside for two of his 13 points, all coming in the second half.

But Oakton's Danny Prentice (eight points) made a three-pointer with 4:35 left. And Matt Puccio scored on a fastbreak layup, tying the game at 40.

Still, Fairfax led, 45-42, after Will scored on a spinning five-footer with 1:59 to play. But, after Puccio missed a three, Will missed the front end of a one-and-one. Harn then buried his jumper.

``Harn has the ability to get his shot off at any time,'' Kuhblank said. ``He can get the same shot after the first pass that he does off the sixth pass. I'd rather he gets the shot off after the sixth pass. But he's also money.''

Morgan helped hold Wigenton scoreless in the third and fourth quarters. Wigenton managed only four shots in that stretch. Fortunately for Fairfax, Will scored 13 of the Rebels' 15 points during those quarters.

Wigenton scored 18 first-half points, helping the Rebels build a 30-26 halftime lead. Fairfax junior Gabriel Young scored all nine of his points in the first half.

The lead changed hands five times in the first quarter, though Oakton never led by more than one point.

``We thought we were capable of getting here,'' Kuhblank said. ``But did we think we'd go? No.''

There they are, facing a coach who led them to the state tournament two years ago. But the Cougars lost in the region final to Hayfield.

``I want to enjoy this one,'' said Kuhblank when asked about facing his former coach. ``But with all due respect to [Chantilly coach Jim] Smith and [Lake Braddock coach Brian] Metress and [South Lakes coach Wendell] Byrd, Charlie is still the best coach.''