Sylacauga’s CJ Franklin watched as his team’s title hopes seemingly vanished in a matter of seconds.

A steal and quick layup, plus the ensuing foul, saw a late lead evaporate, but Franklin did not blink as he charged into the gauntlet and came away with a pair of free throws to reclaim the advantage.

“I had been struggling on free throws a little bit throughout the season,” Franklin said. “I knew playoff time, I had to lock in and focus on my free throws.”

Franklin converted the freebies and Corbyn Patterson rebounded the final shot attempt as the Aggies survived a fourth-quarter slugfest to escape with a 69-68 victory over No. 5 Wenonah in Wednesday’s Class 5A state semifinal at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena in Birmingham.

“We’ve been in these types of ballgames all year long,” Sylacauga coach Joel Jones said. “We persevered through them all, for the most part. These young men have laid the foundation, exceeded every expectation and everything I’ve put before them, they’ve passed every test.”

Sylacauga (30-3) trailed by double digits to open the second half, but Franklin quickly knocked down a pair of triples in the opening 2 minutes and Ayden Crowe capped an 11-2 run to pull the Aggies within 41-40 at the 5:22 mark of the third period.

“I realized it might be my last game as a senior and knew I had to step up and make some big plays,” Crowe said.

The Dragons were able to extend their lead back to 6 points twice in waning moments and carried a 52-48 advantage into the final quarter.

Wenonah scored the first bucket of the final period but endured a 5:54 field-goal drought that allowed the Aggies to shoot ahead 58-56 on the strength of a 10-2 run, bookended by 3-pointers from Crowe and Patterson.

J’Sean Bailey tied the game at 62-all on Wenonah’s second field goal of the fourth quarter, but Franklin immediately retook the lead on a short jumper with 1:17 remaining and Jordan Roberson scored three straight points to push the Sylacauga lead to 67-63 with 14 seconds to play.

Demazzia Taylor cut the lead to a bucket on the next possession, forced a steal on the ensuing in-bounds play and was fouled on a made layup, resulting in a 3-point play that gave the Dragons a 68-67 lead with 10 seconds remaining.

Franklin was fouled on Sylacauga’s final series and converted both free throws for the go-ahead score of game. Taylor missed an inside shot on the final play and Patterson rebounded for the win.

“That’s what happens when you get into these types of ballgames,” Jones said. “They overcome.”

Wenonah (26-9) jumped out to an 11-4 lead in the first period, powered by an 11-2 run that was capped with a block and coast-to-coast layup by Brendon Davis. The Aggies closed the gap to 8 points in the second quarter but Wenonah used a 7-2 run to push the lead to double digits at the halftime break.

Star of the Game: Franklin. The junior guard finished with a team-high 16 points on 5-of-9 shooting and added 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. He was 0-for-2 from beyond the arc in the first half but made consecutive 3-pointers to open the second half and rally the Aggies.

“I knew had to redeem myself from the first half. I only scored once in the first half so I had something to prove,” he said.

Stat sheet: Sylacauga – Crowe finished with 14 points, followed by Roberson with 11 points. Joshua Speer had 8 points and 8 rebounds, and Erick O’Neal and Patterson scored 6 points each and combined for 9 rebounds. Wenonah – Taylor led the Dragons with a game-high 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting, and added 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals. Davis finished with 11 points and 3 blocks, and Bailey had 13 points and 3 rebounds. Korey Floyd, Devont’e Penn and Zakaris Stallworth scored 6 points each.

By the numbers: Sylacauga shot 50 percent overall, 33.3 percent from 3-point range – after ending the first half 0-of-7 from beyond the arc – and was 11-of-17 on free throws. The Aggies won the rebounding battle 29-21 and scored 16 points off 12 turnovers. Wenonah was 52.2 percent from the field, 33.3 percent on 3-pointers, and was 16-of-20 at the foul line.

Did you know? Sylacauga advanced to its fourth title game in program history, where the Aggies are 2-1 with 5A titles in 1988 and 2018.

Coachspeak: “Basketball doesn’t start in November. It starts in the month of June with playdates. When they’re done, we continue to work, we continue to lift, we continue to condition and we continue to work on agility. Basketball is a funny game. One minute you’re down, the next minute you’re up. We’re fortunate enough to come out on the winning side.” – Sylacauga’s Jones

“Shout out to Sylacauga, they played hard. They’re a well-coached team and did a great job of fighting to the end. We didn’t do what we needed early in the game and it came back to haunt us. Rebounding.” – Wenonah’s Cedric Lane

They said it: “First and foremost, we trust in God. This team is very spiritual.” – Sylacauga junior Speer

“We’ve been in these situations before and we’ve always had a positive outcome. I never had any doubt in this team.” – Crowe

“We’re coming back harder next year and we’ll be here. We will be here. Y’all can record this and put it on whatever you want, we will be here next year.” – Wenonah’s Davis

What’s next? Sylacauga will face Vigor in the AHSAA Class 5A title game at 10:45 a.m. on Saturday at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.