Aliceville’s Tyjarian Williams is not the best free throw shooter.

He admitted that much himself, but the 6-foot-3 senior came through in the clutch for the Yellow Jackets on Friday against St. Luke’s.

After missing the first of two free throw attempts in a tie game with three seconds left, Williams got a high bounce on the second attempt before it dropped perfectly into the net.

“When I shot it, I got nervous when it first bounced up,” Williams said. “I had been struggling with free throws all year so I’ve been practicing. It meant so much when it bounced back in.”

The ninth-ranked Yellow Jackets held a double-digit lead in the first half but had to rally in the final seconds for a 44-43 victory over the Wildcats in the Class 2A title game at Birmingham’s BJCC Legacy Arena.

Aliceville (25-1) captured its first boys basketball state title in its first championship game in five tournament appearances.

“We got one,” Aliceville coach Christopher Walker said. “Grateful for the opportunity. I’ve said all year, I’ll take any group in 2A when we show up. My group, I feel like it’s the best group here, and we showed it today.”

“Our community is behind us,” he added. “We’ve been counted out on so much. Country town. Today we were called the country boys and country boys taking that state championship back to the country. Remember what got us here and remember your why.”

St. Luke’s jumped out to an 8-3 lead in the first four minutes powered by six points from Javonte Nickles, but the Yellow Jackets closed the opening quarter with a 13-0 run to take a 16-8 lead over the Wildcats. Jatavius Colvin got the scoring started with a mid-range jumper and Tyquan Simon bookended the run on a 3-pointer with two seconds left in the period.

Brandon Cooks hit a pair of free throws to close the gap to six points in the first two minutes of the second period, but Aliceville countered with a 6-0 run to build its largest lead of the game at 22-10 midway through. St. Luke’s began carving its way back on an 11-3 run — supported by five points from Cooks. Aliceville led just 25-21 at the break.

Both teams matched buckets early in the second half until the Wildcats hit a 7-0 run – ignited by a 3-pointer and mid-range jumper from Mike Myles – to take a 35-31 lead with a little more than two minutes left in the third period. Colvin scored the last five points of the quarter on another jumper and 3-pointer to give Aliceville a slim 36-35 lead ahead of the final stanza.

“We fight,” Walker said. “Through adversity is where we play our best game most of the time. By all means, we ain’t going down easy. We’ve shown that in the tough games this year.”

The two teams exchanged the lead four times in the final quarter before Williams’ free throw gave the Yellow Jackets a one-point advantage with 3.6 seconds remaining. A jump shot from Simon inside of the final minute pushed the lead to 43-41 but a pair of free throws from St. Luke’s JT Busby tied it up with 25 seconds left in the game.

Simon drove the lane on the final Aliceville possession, missing a layup attempt, but Williams was there to clean the glass and was subsequently fouled on his missed tip. Offensive rebounding was the story of the game. Aliceville had a 20-2 edge, including Williams’ last one that ended up in the winning point.

Colvin forced a turnover on the ensuing in-bounds play and the Yellow Jackets dropped to the court in celebration.

“Couldn’t ask for a better chance to finish it out there,” St. Luke’s coach Garreth Trawick said. “Obviously, we had our chances, bounce of the ball, and that’s the name of the game sometimes. Proud of my guys and the grit and the toughness they showed to get to this point.”

St. Luke’s (16-12) started the season 0-8 before finishing the season 16-4.

“There’s never any excuses,” Trawick said. “We dealt with a lot of injuries early in the season, and it gave our younger guys an opportunity to get on the floor. As a small fish in a big pond in Mobile County, we have the opportunity to play (teams like) St. Paul’s, Faith Academy and Cottage Hill. It’s our intention to have a tough schedule that will push us and teach us. It’s a testament to the entire team.”

Star of the Game: Colvin. The 6-foot senior had a team-high 18 points, along with seven rebounds, two assists and three steals, and was named Class 2A tournament MVP.

“Honestly, I’ve been penetrating and kicking the ball to them to help them get involved too. I’m not the best inside, I get them the ball and that’s where my points come,” he said.

Stat sheet: Aliceville – Simon, also named to the all-tournament team, finished with nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks. Williams had six points, nine boards, two blocks and two steals, and Jordan Sterling and Quadarian Speight combined for three points and seven rebounds. St. Luke’s – Cooks led the Wildcats with a game-high 20 points, adding six rebounds, two blocks and two steals, and Mike Myles finished with seven points, 10 rebounds and five steals. Nickles had six points, five boards and four blocks. Myles and Cooks were both named to the all-tournament team.

By the numbers: The Yellow Jackets were held to 27.8 percent from the field and only 10-for-21 from the charity stripe, but owned the glass with a plus-13 edge in the rebounding battle. St. Luke’s finished shooting 39.5 percent overall and 10-of-12 at the foul line, matching buckets with Aliceville, but made one less 3-pointer in the game.

They said it: “Stop reaching. When I score, I start reaching and get a tick-tack foul. It’s not even a hard foul. So I stopped reaching and started sliding my feet.” — Colvin on picking up fourth foul

“It means a lot to the team and the program, plus the community. The coaches and all, we have great men.” — Simon on winning state title

“State champs. Out.” – Colvin’s parting words