SAN ANTONIO ? John Lucas Jr. threw both arms around his son and pulled him close, turning back the clock in their tight embrace.

“You think of the little boy you saw down on the floor praying, or putting up posters of Allen Iverson and Kobe Bryant in his room or waking up at 6 a.m. to take 1,500 shots,” Lucas said Thursday.

And what about the jumper that John Lucas III hit with 6.9 seconds left to beat Saint Joseph’s? What exactly was dad feeling when his son squared up to take the biggest shot of the NCAA Tournament?

“Oh, it happened too quickly,” the former NBA standout said, laughing. “I didn’t have time to think.”

Their giant bearhug behind the bench at the Meadowlands after Oklahoma State’s 64-62 win Saturday night became the most touching moment in a tourney full of famous father-and-son combos.

For Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton, keeping an eye on his son during this Final Four is even easier. Sean Sutton is one of his dad’s assistants.

“Sean has been with me ever since he was a 4-year-old and heard those halftime, pregame, postgame talks at Arkansas,” the elder Sutton said, heading into Saturday’s semifinal against Georgia Tech. “He sat on the end of the bench.”

Too bad for Darryl Strawberry and Ernie Grunfeld, their kids came up short of the Alamodome.

D.J. Strawberry, son of the former the All-Star slugger, missed a pair of short shots in the final seconds for Maryland during a 72-70 loss to defending champion Syracuse in the second round.

Oklahoma State's John Lucas hugs his father, former NBA player John Lucas Jr., after the Cowboys defeated Texas in the Big 12 Conference tournament championship game. OSU won the game March 14 in Dallas.

Dan Grunfeld, son of the former NBA player and general manager, missed a three-pointer at the buzzer and top-seeded Stanford was eliminated by Alabama, 70-67, in the second round.

Not that everyone knew who they were up against. Before Maryland played Texas-El Paso in the opening round, Miners guard Filiberto Rivera was asked about the Terrapins’ connection.

“I’ll be honest. I don’t know who Darryl Strawberry is, but I know his son is a good player,” Rivera said.

A few other familiar names did it like Dad in this year’s 65-team field.

Austin Ainge, a BYU redshirt freshman, and Kansas reserve Omar Wilkes both have fathers who played well in the NBA — Danny and Jamaal.

North Carolina center Sean May comes from prominent pedigree: His dad led the undefeated 1976 Indiana team to the championship.

Oklahoma state coach Eddie Sutton, left, talks to his team as he leans on his son, assistant coach Sean Sutton. The Cowboys' Tony Allen, right, listens during a March 6 game in Stillwater, Okla.

In 2001, Mike Dunleavy starred in front of his dad — NBA player and coach Mike — as Duke won the title.

No such family pairing this time when the Blue Devils play Connecticut in the other semifinal.

Not that every father-son story in recent tournaments has been so sentimental.

While Sacramento Kings guard Mike Bibby was leading Arizona to the 1997 title, he rejected any references to Henry Bibby.

Henry Bibby helped UCLA win three straight titles, won an NBA championship with the New York Knicks and became the coach at Southern California. But a bitter divorce left him estranged from his son.

“My father is not part of my life,” Mike Bibby said at the time. “I’d rather they put nothing behind my name. Anything but that.”