Class 3A No. 1 Cottage Hill outscored No. 4 Houston Academy 20-8 in the fourth quarter, rallying for a 56-47 victory in the South Regional boys semifinal at Garrett Coliseum on Saturday morning.

The Warriors (25-3) move on to the regional final at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday against either Hillcrest-Evergreen or Opp.

“Moving on feels good,” Cottage Hill coach Adam Thomas said. “It feels good to get back to where things ended for us last year. Hopefully, we can make that right this time around and get back to Birmingham. It’s always good to survive and advance at this time of the year.”

Cottage Hill took the lead for good at 40-39 on Tyler Thomas’ tip-in with 7:06 left. The Warriors’ nine-point margin of victory was their largest lead of the game. Houston Academy’s largest lead was six, 27-21, with 5:19 left in the first half.

“Throughout that fourth quarter, we were able to get some defensive stops and steals and things of that nature with our pressure,” coach Thomas said. “But I think the biggest thing for us was getting the ball underneath. We scored 18 points from the foul line, and you don’t get those chances unless you are in the paint.”

Tyler Thomas led the way with 22 points and 11 rebounds. He also hit 9-of-10 free throws to help seal the win. Cottage Hill was 18-of-25 from the foul line overall.

Shadrick Toodle added 13 points, while Trent Thomas had nine points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals. Kelvon McBride added nine points and seven rebounds.

“We have seven seniors, and they are really gritting their teeth to push through this,” coach Thomas said. “Tyler was able to lead us today, get us a few points going when we needed it. These seniors don’t want it to be over. We’ve got a strong core group. I’m excited about their mindset and their drive to finish this season right.”

Cam Dyer led Houston Academy with 21 points and seven rebounds. He was 8-of-11 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line. Ethan Coachman added 10 points.

Neither team shot well from long range in Garrett Coliseum. Houston Academy was 1-of-12 from 3-point range. Cottage Hill was 2-of-16. The Warriors were 18-of-48 from the field overall (37.5 percent). The Raiders were 17-of-45 (also 37 percent). HA was 12-of-18 from the free throw line.

Cottage Hill scored 17 points off 17 Houston Academy turnovers. The Raiders scored just five points off seven Warriors turnovers.