Kid from Kentucky has his one shining moment

TAMPA, Fla. -- It has been a tradition in his home since he was a kid. Ty Rogers' mother always taped those magical NCAA tournament moments, providing the Western Kentucky guard special times to himself when he could dream it might one day be him.

Ty Rogers causes a mob to form, but he's been prepping for this moment his whole life. (AP)

That hoop in the family backyard in his small hometown of Eddyville, Ky. -- three stoplights, he says -- provided him the place to practice his silky smooth stroke. The shining moments from the tournament gave him the motivation.

Now he has his own.

Who says dreams don't come true?

Only moments after missing a free throw in overtime, Rogers buried a 3-point shot at the buzzer from near center court to give the 12th-seeded Hilltoppers a dramatic 101-99 overtime victory over fifth-seeded Drake on Friday in a first-round West Region game.

After Drake, which had rallied from 16 down in the second half, took a 99-98 lead on two free throws by Jonathan Cox, Western Kentucky coach Darrin Horn called timeout with 5.7 seconds left, the Hilltoppers' tourney hopes hanging in the balance.

Horn's message to his team was get the ball into the hands of point guard Tyrone Brazelton and let him get to the rim. Smart strategy considering Brazelton had torched Drake for 33 points.

But as they broke the huddle, Rogers reminded Brazelton of something.

"Don't be afraid to kick it," Rogers said.

Brazelton dribbled to the right side of the court and looked for an opening, but two Drake defenders cut him off, so he calmly flipped it back to Rogers who buried the 3 as the horn sounded.

"It felt good when it left my hands," Rogers said.

Not nearly as good as it did when it dropped through the nets, advancing Western Kentucky to the second round. Not too bad for a guy who started the season on the bench.

Rogers, a senior, made it into the starting lineup in the eighth game and has been a valuable player in the Hilltoppers' 28-5 season. On this day, he had just eight points before nailing the shot just shy of Clearwater.