LEXINGTON — Call it the Great Escape.

Coach Chris O’Hearn said as much after his Mason County team — a Sweet Sixteen co-favorite with Lexington Catholic — overcame a seven-point deficit down the stretch to squeeze past Elliott County 66-62 Thursday night in an electric first-round game.

Mason County destroyed the Lions 90-61 last month ago in Maysville, but this one was strictly a nail-biter before a crowd of 15,040 in Rupp Arena.

“Elliott County played an outstanding basketball game,’’ O’Hearn said. “A month ago against them, we probably played our best game of the year. We’ve been trying to sell our guys all week on how competitive Elliott County’s players are.’’

The Lions put themselves in position for an upset by building a 57-50 lead on Jonathan Ferguson’s two free throws with 4:17 remaining, but Mason County used some sensational 3-point shooting to pull out the victory.

“We are fortunate to win,’’ O’Hearn said. “Our guys kept their composure. We knocked down some shots and Darius Miller had some huge offensive rebounds.’’

Elliott County led 59-53 with 3:11 left after Ethan Faulkner drove through the Royals defense and hit a flip shot.

Instead of hitting the panic button, Mason County hit three consecutive 3-pointers — two from Trevor Setty — to go up 62-59 with 1:44 to go.

The Royals (31-4) never relinquished the lead despite plenty of tense moments.

After Ferguson sank two free throws to get Elliott County within one point, Mason County missed the front end of two consecutive bonus situations. But the Royals came up with the ball both times, thanks to Miller’s active rebounding.

On the second occasion, Miller passed to Setty for a layup to make it 64-61 with 24 seconds showing.

Rather than give Elliott County a 3-point opportunity, Mason County fouled Tyler Maynard with eight seconds remaining. Maynard made the first, missed the second and Elliott fouled Miller on the rebound.

The 6-foot-7 senior and University of Kentucky signee had missed four of his five tries from the foul line, but made a pair to seal the dramatic win for the Royals.

“I just tried to focus,’’ Miller said. “I wasn’t thinking about the ones I missed. I was determined about not letting my team down and not going home today.’’

Instead, it turned out to be a heartbreaker for Elliott County.

“Oh, this one is hard,’’ coach Rick Mays said while leaving the interview room. “I thought we played hard and played well. Mason County just stepped up hit those big shots late. That’s what teams that are ranked that high do.’’

Each team made seven 3-pointers and Elliott County had a wave of momentum after Maynard connected on a 30-footer that pushed the Lions’ lead to 53-47 with 5:18 remaining.

“Anytime you’re up like that on the No. 1 team, you have to feel good,’’ said Evan Faulkner, who had 10 points, five rebounds and did a nice defensive job on Miller despite a six-inch height difference. “They made three straight threes and you just have to credit them for hitting big shots.’’

Settle, who led Mason County with 19 points, was itching to help his team after sitting out more than six minutes of the third quarter with three fouls.

“I was about to jump out of my pants,’’ Setty said of his time on the bench. “I wanted to get in there and help us win, and that’s what happened.’’

Miller finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Royals, who advance to meet Paducah Tilghman tonight at 8 in the quarterfinals. Tilghman (28-6) beat Greenwood 77-53.

Russ Middleton scored 15 points and Ethan King 11 for the Royals, who shot 51 percent from the field.

Elliott County (26-4) got 19 points from Ferguson and Maynard scored 10.

ROCKY STANLEY can be reached at rstanley@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2671.