A quick four-point Florida State lead in the first minute of the extra period. Now, with Western forward Darnell Mee fouled off, the world expected the Hilltoppers to surrender quietly.
Wrong. A dangerous, difficult 14-foot bank shot by Darrin Horn that brought Western within 78-76.
Then came a play that will be replayed on Bluegrass television sets forever. A crazy delayed charging call against Mark Bell that negated a tying basket by Robinson and took Bell from the game with 53.9 seconds to play. Western lost two critical points and its most critical player. From courtside the call looked bad.
Two free throws by Charlie Ward and another by freshman Derrick Carroll appeared to secure the FSU victory.
But even in the fnal four seconds, Florida State, the second-best team from the Atlantic Coast Conference, quivered. Western Kentucky earned the game's final shot. With Mee and Bell sitting, Western needed a three-pointer from an unlikely source.
Trailing 81-78, Western had the ball at midcourt. Only four seconds remained. Moving quickly, Western got the ball to forward Cypheus Bunton in the right corner for a 21-footer. The shot would be worth three points, a tie and another overtime.
No matter that Bunton, a product of Valley High School, has made only one three-pointer in five attempts this season, that coming on Jan. 27. There was no time for shot selection. Western needed three points. So Bunton fired. His form was textbook. He shot the ball precisely the way Mee or Bell would, eyes fixed on the rim, ignoring a flying defender.
The ball kissed the front of the rim firmly, bounced 15 feet above the rim, hanging there as the crowd in the Charlotte Coliseum leaned forward.
Gravity pulled the ball to earth in a straight line. Again it kissed the edge of the rim, falling to the court and taking Western's visions of the school's first trip to the Final Four in 22 years with it. In the past eight NCAA Tournaments, only one team (Navy in 1986) seeed seventh had crashed the regional semifinals. Western would not become the second.
Pain washed over the faces of the Western players and fans quickly. Along the Hilltopper bench, Ralph Wlillard's players sat with hands clasped throughout the overtime. Now they didnot want to leave the floor.
Western fans, perhaps 2,000 of them, had stood throughout the game, from the first row of Section 125 to the last row of the balcony in section 230. Now they waved their trademark towels a final time.
"As (CBS announcer) Al McGuire said to me after the game, their first six or seven players can play anywhere," Florida State coach Pat Kennedy said.
Pride will replace the hurt for Willard's team. The world will remember its grit more than its 26 victories in 32 games.
We saw evidence of that grit in the first half. For the first eight minutes it appeared Florida State would place the Hilltoppres on an express train back to Bowling Green. The taller Seminoles passed over Western's press, making it ineffective.
The tale of the tape showed that the Seminoles 
were taller and stronger than Western. Florida State confirmed that early. Racing to a 22-15 lead, the Seminoles made 9 of their first 16 shots, all of them came within a fingertip of the basket - two tip-ins, three layups and four dunks.
The defense tightened - fiercely. Imagine this: With 45 seconds left in the first half and the score tied a 40, Florida State worked for the last shot of the half. Here was Ward, an FSU guard, attacking Michael Fraliex of Western.
Ward is the Florida State quarterback who figures to carry home the Heisman Trophy next season. Fraliex is a freshman who played at Caldwell County High School in Princeton, Ky. last season.
Ward had more trouble moving downcourt against Fraliex than he did against the Miami Hurricanes. The kid from Caldwell County surrounded him with pressure, creating a turnover on a five-second call.
Now Western knew it could play with Florida State. America learned that too.
Previous WKU-Seton Hall game story
belonged in the semifinals of the NCAA Southeast Regional against Florida State, but proof of pedigree does not guarantee a team a place in the next round in this party.