In the days leading up to his team’s sectional final against West Carrollton, Wayne coach Travis Trice emphasized to his team that life is fleeting in tournament play, that it only takes a hot shooting night by one opposing player to end your season.

“Any one player can get hot at the right time and send you home,” Trice recalled telling his team. “Just like Jaaron Simmons did the other day against Thurgood.”

With every 3-point bomb West Carrollton’s Conner Myslowski dropped on the Warriors, it appeared Trice’s words might prove prophetic. But junior guard Juan Ford picked a good time to go on a scoring binge of his own, taking over in the fourth quarter to lift top-seeded Wayne to a 57-54 win Saturday night at Wright State.

Thanks to Ford’s well-timed outburst, Wayne advanced to the Division I district finals for the fifth time in six years, narrowly ending upstart West Carrollton’s bid to make it there for the first time since 1972. The Warriors face LaSalle Saturday at UD Arena.

“I told my seniors that I’ve got their backs. I didn’t want this to be their last game, so I had to take over,” Ford said.

For most of the night, though, it was Myslowski controlling the game. The 6-3 senior made four 3-pointers in a four-minute span to pull the fourth-seeded Pirates (16-9) back from the verge of a blowout after Wayne scored the game’s first nine points, and later went on another tear to build their lead.

“He had a great game. A heck of an effort by my kids,” West Carrolllton coach Dan Gerhard said.

When he wasn’t moving the net from deep, Myslowski was drawing defenders and finding open teammates for layups. He hit Byron Whatley for a game-tying score with two minutes left, but Wayne’s Tyree Kinel answered with a layup to regain the lead. After a Myslowski free throw, D’Mitrick trice hit made two free-throws to push the lead to three, and Crisshawn Clark stole the inbounds pass to end the Pirates’ final gasp.

Earlier, Centerville sued stifling defense and a strong game-ending run to outslug Miamisburg, 52-40. Senior center Jake Replogle posted game-highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Elks (15-10) to a district finals matchup with Walnut Hills.

Centerville, which struggled at times adjusting to first-year coach Brook Cupps, seems to be catching on at the right time. It was the sixth consecutive win for Centerville, which has held four of its past five opponents to 43 points or less.

“I think that during the course of the season, the guys have bought in and realized that defense is going to be our calling card,” Cupps said after his team held Miamisburg (17-7) to seven points in the final five minutes. “We have a long way to go, but it’s a good win for us.”

The teams traded the lead for much of the game before Centerville took control with a 10-to-3 fourth-quarter run. Replogle, who also had three steals, was dominant at times in the paint and junior guard Austin Recker chipped in with 13 points in the win. Sophomore forward Adam Giles led Miamisburg with 10 points.