Skyline's bid for a boys basketball final-four berth was fading with 5:30 to play. A three-point play by Perry's Christian Tucker put the host Coyotes in 38-26 hole. 

But Skyline found a way to dig deep pecking away at the deficit until it tied the game at 41 with 25 seconds left. A Perry turnover seven seconds later, its eighth of the final quarter and the Coyotes had the ball and the last shot in their sights. Guess who took it?

"We spread the floor and let Dayton (Harris) do what he does," Skyline coach James Capriotti said. "This was not his best game, but the confidence we have in him is there no matter what."

Harris ran off 10 seconds possessing the ball near midccourt before driving and weaving his way to the hole for two under pressure with three seconds left to give No. 4 Skyline a 43-41 win over Perry in a 6A quarterfinal contest at Skyline. Skyline avenged a first-round overtime loss to Perry last year and is on to the semis for the first time in schoolo history, which covers two decades plus. Skyline (27-2) takes on No. 1 Desert Vista (26-3) at Desert Vista on Thursday (Feb. 27) at 7 p.m. Desert Vista advanced by beating No. 9 Cesar Chavez, 67-52.

The victory sent the home crowd into a February Frenzy and made T-shirts adorned by a multitude of fans ring true - the Coyotes gym dubbed House of Havoc. Harris' decisive basket was the only lead Skyline had in the second half other than the 19-17 advantage it had at intermission. The NAU-bound Harris finished with a game-high 18 points, but entering the fourth quarter he had 10 points on 5 of 21 shooting. He scored his final eight points in the last three minutes of the game. 

For the bulk of the evening it was a game 12th-seeded Perry commanded. The Pumas (14-14) opted for a patient game, often spreading the floor. They were able get the ball inside to 6-foot-6 post Duke Brennan and occasionally 6-9 wing Dylan Anderson. Brennan and Anderson came through with a bunch of baskets in the paint or on putbacks. Brennan led Perry with 17 points and Anderson had 12. Brennan fouled out with 1:29 to play. He scored a putback to start the fourth quarter for his only bucket of the period. Anderson did not score in the final eight minutes.

Through the flood of timeouts each team called in the final five minutes, Capriotti didn't have a fire-and-brimstone chat in any of them. He knew what they were capable of.

"They were mostly to keep them calm," Capriotti said. "What they've done all season I reminded them to keep doing it. To believe in what we do.'"

Patrick Herrera joined Harris in double figures with 11 points - nine of them via threes. Tyree Tyler finished with seven points, a three to break a third-quarter dry spell for Skyline and two baskets in the last 42 seconds that helped cap the closing 17-3 run.