Having watched a 17-point second-half lead whittled down to just one, St. Luke’s didn’t wilt under pressure.

“Coach just reminded us that we were still up, and they still had to get a stop,” senior Kam Chambers said. “We had to keep our demeanor and make them work on defense because we still had the lead.”

The Wildcats also kept the lead.

With the Mars Hill crowd roaring, St. Luke’s responded to the Panther run with nine straight points from the free throw line and went on to a 63-56 victory in the Class 2A state semifinals Monday evening at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.

RELATED: Live updates from Monday’s games

The Wildcats (16-11) will play either Aliceville or Sand Rock at 10:45 a.m. Friday with a chance to win their first state title.

“One thing I’ve learned is that I can get a team this far,” said St. Luke’s Garreth Trawick, who has taken both the Wildcat girls and boys to the final four. “Now we just have to find a way to get the job done. These boys have a golden opportunity on Friday morning, but it will be the toughest game they’ve ever played. We’ve got to go home and get ready.”

On Monday, St. Luke’s led just 28-22 late in the first half before putting together a 12-0 run that spanned much of the third quarter. A pair of JT Busby free throws gave the Wildcats a 40-23 edge. They led 44-29 entering the final quarter and 51-36 before Mars Hill charged back.

On the strength of three Hugh Hargett 3-pointers, the Panthers went on a 15-2 run, cutting the St. Luke’s lead to just 53-52 with 2:29 still left in regulation and forcing the Wildcats to call a timeout.

The message in each huddle obviously was different.

“At that point, we thought the press was working so why change it,” Mars Hill coach Jim South said. “We didn’t want to leave No. 10 (St. Luke’s star Brandon Cooks). He’s a fantastic player. We wanted to trap them and speed them up. Ultimately, when you are having trouble making shots, you have to create something defensively. I thought we did that. We just couldn’t make a shot on the other end to get us over the hump.”

In the St. Luke’s huddle, Trawick tried to keep his team focused.

“You always talk about basketball being a game of runs. That is what makes it unique compared to other sports,” he said. “Their transition and press, while they were fresh, was giving us trouble. We had to sprint back and build a wall and just communicate better.”

St. Luke’s put the game away at the free throw line. Mike Myles made a pair with 2:11 left to start the Wildcats’ last run and help preserve the win. Busby, Cooks and Chambers also had key free throws down the stretch.

“We were looking to make one bucket to get us over the hump,” South said. “We had some opportunities. We subbed offense for defense to stay fresh. We just came up a couple of plays short.”

Star of the game: St. Luke’s went to Cooks when it needed a basket. He finished with 21 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. He was 8-of-12 from the free throw line.

Stat sheet: St. Luke’s – Myles added 16 points, six rebounds and six assists. He was 5-of-6 from the free throw line. Chambers added 14 points. Busby had eight points, six rebounds and two steals. Mars Hill – Hargett finished with a game-high 28. He started the game with three straight 3-pointers and finished with six overall. Connor Pigg added 10 points and 10 rebounds.

By the numbers: St. Luke’s was 21-of-45 from the field (46.7 percent), 3-of-8 from 3-point range and 18-of-28 from the foul line. Mars Hill was 23-of-62 from the field (37 percent) and 7-of-27 from the 3-point line (25.9 percent). The Panthers got to the free throw line just three times, hitting them all.