Calhoun coach Jakeem Davison pulled his team together to design a final play with 6.2 seconds remaining and trailing by three in Monday’s Class 1A boys state semifinal at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.

Covenant Christian was ready for it.

The Eagles smothered Calhoun 3-point specialist Kentavius Loftin and forced him into an off-balanced shot that missed, allowing Covenant Christian to escape with a 57-54 victory.

“The plan was to get the ball to our best 3-pointer shooter, Kentavius Loftin, who’s shooting 51 percent from three,” Davison said. “But they were all over him.”

Covenant Christian (26-8) advances to Thursday’s Class 1A championship game for the third straight season. The Eagles won the last two titles, beating Oakwood Adventist Academy last year and Decatur Heritage in 2022.

“We certainly don’t take it for granted to be back,” Covenant coach Bret Waldrep said.

Stars of the game: Covenant Christian’s Jalen Chandler scored 12 points in the first quarter and finished with 23 points. He had two first-half dunks. Teammate Trey Kellogg took over in the second half and finished with 18 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocked shots and 4 steals.

Table manners: The game was stopped twice in the final minute — once over a discrepancy over how many timeouts Covenant had and later when the clock didn’t start on an inbounds play. Both halted the game for several minutes and interrupted the game’s flow.

“They just kept playing, and fortunately it didn’t affect the game,” Waldrep said.

Did you know?: Calhoun played in the state semifinals for the first time since 2020, when Mr. Basketball J.D. Davison’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer lifted the Tigers past Barbour County for the Class 2A 2020 state championship.

Stat sheet: Taylor Robertson led Calhoun with 16 points. Brenterris Managan had 13 points and four assists, and Tyler Robertson added 11 points. Loftin had 14 points. … Andrew Brackin added 10 points for Covenant.

By the numbers: Calhoun had 12 assists on 20 made baskets. … Covenant won the rebounding battle 30-24. … Covenant blocked nine shots, to just one for Calhoun.

Coachspeak:

“Experience, I think that’s what pulled us through.” — Waldrep

“It was my first rodeo. It was their first rodeo.” — Davison, talking about his team’s lack of state tournament experience

They said it: “We’re just enjoying the moment and taking it one step a time.” — Kellogg

“We’ll be back next year for sure.” — Calhoun’s Taylor Robertson

What’s next?: Covenant plays in Thursday’s championship game, with tip-off set for 5:45 p.m.

This post will be updated.