Clinton Lewis/ Daily News

The Warren Central boys basketball team needed a miracle in the closing seconds of Fridays semifinal in the Fords Furniture Holiday Classic. Matt Maresca answered the Dragons prayers. The junior forward, who started in place of an injured Leroy Wilson, tipped in an errant shot by Brandon Cummings with 0.2 seconds remaining as Warren Central survived a scare from Graves County with a 48-47, come-from-behind win. Its good to be lucky, Warren Central head coach Tim Riley said. Maresca said his last second tip-in was just instinct and that he really didnt have time to think about what to do. I saw the ball go up and I knew it was short, so I came from the other side and jumped, Maresca said. I knew where the basket was, so I just turned and threw it at the backboard. The ending was a wild finish to a tightly contested game. Graves County kept the lead for most of the first half as the Dragons got off to a slow start for the second straight night. The Eagles led by as many as six points in the half, but Warren Central clawed ahead 25-23 on a 3 from Cummings with two minutes left in the half. The lead would be brief, as Aaron Ivey helped the Eagles regain the lead with a three. Following a Cummings free throw, Michael Johnson hit a layup with two seconds left, giving Graves County a 28-26 halftime lead. Central tied the score 30-30 on a baseline jumper from Maresca 37 seconds into the second half, but AJ Adams quickly regained the lead with a layup less than a minute later. The Dragons answered back with a 6-0 run to take a 34-30 lead and extended the margin to six points, 41-35, on a putback from Troy McFarland with two minutes left in the third. Were going to have to learn to win games like that, Riley said. With the Dragons playing conservative, the Eagles charged back with two putbacks from Adams and a 3 from T.J. Steffen with 20 seconds left, that set up the last-second heroics. Graves County had three fouls to give and took advantage fouling on the first two in bounds, but according to head coach Allan Hatcher, they were unable to get another foul in time. We almost fouled on the shot attempt and I guess our kids got scared to foul at the end, Hatcher said. We found a way to lose the game, to be honest with you. Maresca led the Dragons with 16 points, while Johnson led Graves County with 17 points. Warren Central (5-1) will play Bowling Green in the championship game at 8:30 p.m. tonight, while Graves County (4-4) will play University Heights Academy in the Consolation game at 7 p.m.Graves County 17 11 10 9 – 47Warren Central 14 12 15 7 – 48GCHS (47) Ivey 8, Steffen 3, Johnson 17, Kimbler 4, Adams 13, Frick 2.WCHS (48) Anderson 3, Cummings 10, Whitney 9, Dewalt 6, Maresca 16, McFarland 4.