Austin Grammer wasn’t even coaching American Christian when the season started.

On Friday, he’ll coach the Patriots in the state championship game.

Hunter Bates’ steal and layup with 1:45 left gave American Christian the lead for good and the Patriots held on to beat Deshler 58-54 in the Class 4A boys semifinals on Tuesday at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.

“I knew the pass was coming,” said Bates, one of eight ACA seniors. “Right when I stole it, the only thought I had was to make that layup.”

The Patriots (27-7) will get a chance to put the finishing touches on an emotional ride to the championship at 5:45 p.m. Friday against either No. 1 Jackson or DAR. Former Alabama basketball player Blake Thrasher, who started the season as the team’s head coach, had to step away in November after a cancer diagnosis. He was able to be in the stands for Tuesday’s win.

“Coach Thrasher was here tonight,” Grammer said. “He’s very humble about his situation. He’s a tremendous guy. I think he tries to down play the impact he’s had on these boys and this program, but this is what he’s built. We wouldn’t be here without him.”

Grammer, a former ACA student himself, wasn’t even an assistant basketball coach when he got a call over the Thanksgiving break about taking over for the rest of the season. He coaches football and baseball for the Patriots.

“I know this has been hard on the guys,” he said. “There has been a lot of uncertainty, but from that point on we’ve been just trying to represent coach Thrasher the best we can. For him to be here today was incredible. Hopefully, we can get one more for him.”

The Patriots entered the fourth quarter with a five-point lead against Deshler before Garrett Reid opened the period with back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Tigers a 47-46 lead. It was tight the rest of the way.

The outcome was not even close to decided after Bates’ go-ahead layup. Khalil Bland and Reid both missed jumpers on Deshler’s next possession and ACA grabbled the rebound. However, Bates was called for a technical foul with 36 seconds left after a brief skirmish with a Deshler player.

Bland hit one of two free throws to bring the Tigers within 55-54, but Javious Carroll had a potential go-ahead layup blocked. Samuel Holt hit two free throws for American Christian and, after Reid missed a long 3 that could have tied the game, Eric Hines hit free throw to help seal the win.

“Sweating it out is a good way to put it,” Grammer said. “We have eight seniors out of 11 players. If you watch college basketball and March Madness, you see a lot of upsets happen because underdog teams have a lot of seniors. We’ve had tremendous senior leadership, and that’s an asset. These guys have played hundreds of games together.”

Star of the game: Bates made the key play in the final minute, but it was Hines’ ability to dominate down low that was the big difference maker for the Patriots. He finished with 17 points and 19 rebounds.

Stat sheet: American Christian – Bates and Davis Dare each scored 12 points. Holt had 10 points, 4 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists. Deshler – Reid finished with a game-high 20 points. Bland followed with 12. Jay Murner added 10.

By the numbers: ACA was 22-of-53 from the field, 2-of-13 from 3 and 12-of-21 from the foul line. Deshler was 20-of-55, 7-of-18 from 3 and 7-of-11 from the foul line. The Patriots won the rebounding battle 37-30.

Did you know? American Christian will be vying for its first state basketball title on Friday.

They said it:

“This team … we are all a family. We’ve been playing together from seventh grade on. This means more to us than anything. It’s been our goal and our dream.” – Davis.

“We want to win one more game, and we are going to do it for him (Thrasher),” – Davis.

“To be the first ACA team to be in the finals means a lot. We’ve worked really hard. Everything we’ve been through from our first coach to our new coach, it’s pushed us to be where we are now.” – Hines.

“I’m so proud of these guys. We started the season 1-6. They persevered and kept fighting. We lost some guys along the way, but these guys stuck together. I don’t have anything negative to say. The guys busted their tails. We didn’t lose today because we didn’t play hard or weren’t coachable or didn’t have good attention. The ball just didn’t bounce our way a few times. If one or two things happen, we are playing on Friday. Unfortunately, they didn’t. But, in my 12 years at Deshler, this may be the most proud I’ve ever been of any group.” – Deshler coach Brian Pounders.

“We were doubted the whole year. We were told we wouldn’t even make it to Wallace (Northwest Regional), that we wouldn’t be as good as last year. The experience has been amazing. I wouldn’t trade it.” – Reid.