GIBRALTAR -- The Lincoln High School boys basketball team trailed by three points to Inkster with 11.5 seconds remaining and the ball in its possession.

Latwan Wesley, whose clutch shot won a district title for the Railsplitters just three nights earlier, was bound to take the last shot again.

A last shot, however, never came.

Wesley, rocking his defender back and forth at the top of the key, lost his dribble and was fouled in the scrum for the ball. With his team in the double-bonus, Wesley was sent to the line for two shots with a mere 3.4 seconds left on the clock.

After missing the first, Wesley purposely missed the second -- for a potential rebound -- but by too much. Possession went back to Inkster, which flung the ball upcourt and held on for a 59-56 win in a Class A regional semifinal at Gibraltar Carlson High School on Monday night.

More coverage: This Story on MLive.com | Boxscore | Class A Bracket

"The ball didn't bounce our way. We were one play away from winning the game," said Lincoln coach Mike Foley. "I'm definitely pleased with the way we played, I'm not pleased with the result."

The Railsplitters held a six-point fourth-quarter lead against an Inkster team that upset No. 1-ranked Romulus in a district title game.

"We made plays when we had to make plays," said Inkster coach Durand Shepherd, who went on to credit Lincoln's effort. "They're a good team, regardless of what name they are. They might not be sitting in everybody's top-10 rankings, but they're a good team."

Lincoln (15-9) wasted no time showing it, staying neck-and-neck with the Vikings (19-4) at breakneck speed in the first quarter. Outside shots were scarce, as both teams pushed the ball with all intentions aimed at getting to the rim.

Lincoln's Jaquan Smith and Inkster's Deon Butler exchanged layups in the final seconds of the first and the Vikings led 18-13.

The margin hovered at five the rest of the half, until the Railsplitters closed out the quarter on a 5-2 run, capped by a lay-in from KeAndre Taylor with 55 seconds left to tighten the gap to 26-23 at intermission.

"We came into this game anticipating it being a tough game," said Foley. "We didn't come here to back off and play a zone, play content. We came in to win."

And at 6:25 in the third, Lincoln tied the game, 26-26, for the first time since two minutes into the first on an Andrew Dillon turnaround jumper. Both clubs traded buckets for the ensuing three minutes, with the Railsplitters first lead of the half coming when DeShawn Clifton rattled in a 3-pointer at 3:54.

Taylor and Wesley, who finished with 16 and 13 points, respectively, took the reigns the rest of the third, combining for Lincoln's final nine points, highlighted by a coast-to-coast running floater from Wesley. When the dust settled, Lincoln held a 42-38 lead heading into the fourth.

Following a bucket apiece from Taylor and Wesley, Lincoln, however, got stuck in a lull. And Inkster -- mainly forward Jerry Jones -- took full advantage to the tune of a 10-2 run, pulling ahead 50-48 with 4:15 remaining. Jones accounted for eight of the 10.

Lincoln tied the game at 50-all on a pair of Jeremy Williams free throws, but Inkster kept in front from that point on. The count got as close as one with 13.6 seconds left upon a Dillon lay-in. However, Inkster sank two more free throws and Lincoln never got its game-tying attempt.

Butler led Inkster with 15 points while Milton Cribbs and Jones added 12 apiece. Eleven of Jones' 12 came in the fourth.

"I take my hat off to my team. And I take my hat off to Inkster, they're a great team," said Foley. "They're big, they're athletic. And we came out here tonight and we proved what type of team and what type of program we are when we face an opponent such as Inkster."

Kaleb Roedel is a sports writer for AnnArbor.com. Contact him at 734-623-2562 or kalebroedel@annarbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kaleb_R.