It’s been more than 25 years since the Charles Henderson boys basketball team has played in a championship game, and the spirit of lost teammates from that team has fueled a new but familiar era for the program.

The fifth-ranked Trojans punched early and punched hard but had to fend off a furious fourth-period rally to clinch a 61-60 victory over No. 1 Ramsay in Wednesday’s Class 5A boys semifinal at Birmingham’s BJCC Legacy Arena.

“I’m proud of these young men to come in against that team with that caliber of players,” Charles Henderson coach Timothy Fayson said. “I kid with them all the time. I’m the only one that made it to a championship game. So I tell them that until they win a championship game, I’m still going to talk trash to them.”

“Honestly, there’s only one thing to do, and that’s to go seal the deal,” he added. “But it’s not even about that. Starting tomorrow, being the best we can be the next day, the next minute and the next hour.”

Charles Henderson (25-5) got the scoring started in every period, a Mario Davenport layup in the first and 3-pointers from Bray Jones, Jayden Spearman and Jywon Boyd in the final three, and surged ahead on at least a 4-0 run to open each frame of the game.

The Trojans jumped out to a quick 4-0 lead in the first three minutes and took a 9-8 lead into the second period following an 8-3 run by Ramsay leading into the final minute. Charles Henderson shot out to a six-point lead on a 5-0 run and kept the Rams at bay until an 8-1 run cut the deficit to a single point with 1:35 remaining in the first half.

Charles Henderson’s Austin Cross drained a 3-pointer following the Ramsay run and Tyler Carlton grabbed a layup inside the final minute to give the Trojans a 30-25 lead entering the halftime break.

The Trojans built their largest lead in the third period, opening the second half on an 11-4 run to take a 41-29 lead midway through. Ramsay’s Zedrick Powell started an 8-0 run on a layup and Jalen Jones scored six straight points to bring the Rams within four points. Both teams matched buckets in the final two minutes of the period, and Charles Henderson entered the fourth with a 45-41 lead.

Ramsay (26-7) allowed a 7-0 run to open the final quarter, falling behind by as many as 11 points, but rallied twice in the last five minutes. Jalen Jones kick-started the initial rally with an old-fashioned 3-point play, pulling his team within 55-51 at the 3:07 mark, and QB Reese ignited the Rams’ final attempt of a comeback with a layup and a pair of free throws, trimming the advantage to 59-57 in the final minute.

Cross missed the front end of the bonus — Ramsay also missed its ensuing free-throw attempts — but found vindication with a made pair of free throws to put the Trojans up 61-57 with 20 seconds left. (Jalen) Jones hit a quick jumper to bring the Rams within a single possession but Kerrington Kiel made 1-of-2 free throws with six seconds remaining and Ramsay was unable to force overtime.

Star(s) of the Game: Boyd and Carlton. Both were physically dominant in the paint and each recorded a double-double for the Trojans. Boyd finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and three steals, followed by Carlton with 11 points, 12 boards and three assists.

“It feels good to be in the final four. In basketball, I’m not going to say we were in a struggle, but it’s always one point to where we get that we can’t pass it. We got to regionals last year and lost, we didn’t get to regionals the year before and it feels good to move ahead,” Boyd said.

Stat sheet: Charles Henderson – Cross led the Trojans with a team-high 13 points, grabbing four boards, and Davenport had 11 points, six rebounds and three steals. Spearman contributed nine points and eight rebounds, followed by Jones with five points and two steals. Ramsay – Jones finished with a game-high 18 points, adding two boards and four steals, and Kiel had 13 points, five rebounds and three assists. Powell and Reese each scored 11 points and combined for 11 rebounds.

By the numbers: The Trojans finished shooting 35.6 percent from the field — 36.8 percent on 3-pointers — and 12-for-20 at the foul line, and owned the rebounding battle with a plus-13 edge on the glass. Ramsay shot 38.8 percent overall, 19-for-27 on free-throw attempts, and forced 24 turnovers that resulted in 27 points.

Did you know? The Trojans advance to their second title game appearance in program history. Charles Henderson coach Timothy Fayson was a sophomore for the 1987 team that fell 62-61 in the final seconds to Hayes in the Class 5A championship.

“I’ve lost a couple of my teammates (since then) and we honored them last season,” Fayson said. “Everything I’ve built since I’ve been coaching is built on that. It’s built on them and their spirit. That jersey hangs up in our locker room. They do it for the program and for all those who came before them.”

Coachspeak: “Blessed to get here and thankful always. My day started out at 5 a.m. with a newborn baby. Congratulations to Charles Henderson to withstand what we do defensively. It’s a credit to them. At the end of the day, we got to rebound better. They (Charles Henderson) absolutely hurt us on the boards today. These gentlemen laid it on the line, they were warriors. Multiple times in the game where they could have quit but they did not. They played to our standard.” — Ramsay’s Denton Johnson

They said it: “It feels great to beat Ramsay. We went through a lot losing to them in the championship game in football. I’ve been thinking about this game for the longest. After we lost, I knew they were good at basketball and knew we were to meet up somewhere. Glad we beat them. They got one up on us, won a championship, but we’re coming for one.” — Boyd

“It was a little too close for comfort. I should have made my free throws, but we toughed it out and got lucky that one of their players missed one of their free throws at the end. We don’t have anything to lose. We’re a step ahead this year so it’s all or nothing.” — Cross

“We just maintain focus and stay motivated. We didn’t come this far to go back three hours to Troy looking sad. Now we go back to Troy happy, have a fun bus ride and get ready for Saturday.” — Carlton

What’s next? Charles Henderson will face either Scottsboro or Valley in the Class 5A title game at 10:45 a.m. Saturday in Birmingham’s BJCC Legacy Arena.