The outcome was long decided almost halfway through the third period but Westminster Christian’s Jackson Hammond found himself with an opportunity to encompass his team’s dominant performance in one swift downward motion.

Following a mid-range jumper from the opponent that quelled a 9-0 run, Hammond was fed underneath by Kaden Rickard and darn near came down with the rim itself as he reclaimed the then-largest lead of the game with an arena-echoing slam.

“I’ve always been able to jump pretty high,” Hammond said. “Since freshman year, I’ve been dunking it. When I see my teammates drive, I get in to help. If I see the ball come my way, I’m ready.”

The top-ranked Wildcats set the tone early on defense and rampaged their way to a 61-28 victory over Montgomery Catholic in Tuesday’s Class 4A semifinal matchup at Birmingham’s BJCC Legacy Arena.

Westminster Christian (29-3) got back-to-back opening layups from Hammond for an early 4-0 lead and surged ahead to a 21-2 advantage as Chase McCarty scored nine points — on a made 3-pointer and two consecutive old-fashioned 3-point plays — during a 17-0 run that ended with consecutive 3-pointers from Eric Robinson.

Trailing 23-4 after the first stanza, Montgomery Catholic was held to only a single made field goal in the second period. Westminster Christian’s Tyler Engle drained a 3-pointer to open the frame and McCarty and Robinson combined for eight points on a 10-0 closing run to take a 38-6 lead into the halftime break.

The Wildcats continued to wield unbridled punishment in the second half, extending its lead to as many as 39 points in the third period on a 9-0 run in the first three minutes of the third period. Westminster Christian emptied the bench in the final frame and managed to build its largest lead of the game, 61-18, on an 8-1 opening run.

Montgomery Catholic (18-7) was able to find some offensive success in the second half, going 10-for-33 overall, and scored 11 points each in the final two frames. After allowing Westminster Christian to take a 43-point lead early in the fourth period, the Knights finished on an inconsequential 10-0 run.

Star of the Game: McCarty. The 6-foot-6 junior finished with a game-high 17 points, adding six rebounds, and was nigh impossible to defend in the paint. He also helped lead an impressive defensive effort that held Montgomery Catholic to six first-half points.

“We really set the tone from the beginning of the game. We had three deflections in the first couple of possessions. When you start like that, you have all the momentum in the world, and we capitalized from defense to offense,” he said.

Stat sheet: Westminster Christian – Robinson finished with 14 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals, followed by Hammond with 10 points, five boards and three assists. Rickard and Engle each scored six points and grabbed four rebounds, the former adding four assists. Montgomery Catholic – Jayden Phifer, Joshua Palmer and Johntarius Green all had six points each with Palmer adding nine rebounds and four blocks. Justin Rose had five points and four boards.

By the numbers: The Wildcats were 46.4 percent overall from the field, 29.4 percent on 3-pointers, and 4-for-4 at the foul line. They forced nine turnovers, resulting in 15 points, and earned a plus-22 advantage on inside scoring and a plus-9 edge in rebounding. Montgomery Catholic shot 24.1 percent overall and was 3-for-21 in the first half alone.

Did you know? Westminster Christian advances to its fourth title game appearance while seeking its second championship.

Coachspeak: “We struggled a little bit earlier in the year, then we sort of found our footing after about the first 2-3 weeks and it’s been that way all year. The greatest thing we’ve done is defended. From Christmas on, we’ve had an unbelievable year of guarding people and making it difficult to score.” — Westminster Christian’s Ronnie Stapler

“To be honest, this was probably one of the least likely teams we thought would have been here. We got hot at the right time but had a little scare in the area tournament and almost got put out in the first round. But we didn’t. We got our minds right, played a little better and ended up here. We earned the right to be here and we’re proud of it.” — Montgomery Catholic’s Michael Curry

They said it: “Our program is founded on defense. That’s really all there is to it.” — Robinson

“It’s a lot easier to play offense when you’re doing well on defense. You’re getting steals, tipping the ball out of bounds, it gives you momentum coming down on offense.” — Hammond

What’s next? Westminster Christian advances to face the winner of Jacksonville-Hale County in the Class 4A title game at 5:45 p.m. Friday at BJCC’s Legacy Arena.