Maybe Buckhorn’s Caleb Holt found a phone booth, instead of the locker room, at halftime.

Because he definitely turned into Superman in the second half.

Holt scored 26 of his 37 points in the second half and filled the stat sheet with seven rebounds, six steals, four assists and three blocked shots to lead the Bucks to a 60-47 victory over Helena in the Class 6A state semifinals at the BJCC’s Legacy Arena.

“Once again, it was win or go home,” said Holt, a sophomore and leading Mr. Basketball candidate. “I hate to lose. I do whatever it takes to win. I don’t want to let my team down.”

BEN THOMAS COLUMN: Don’t miss a chance to see Caleb Holt

Holt rescued a team enduring what coach Patrick Harding called “probably our worst shooting night” of the season by constantly driving into the lane and converting layups or drawing a foul. He finished 15-of-19 at the free throw line.

“We had a hard time staying in front of him in the second half,” Helena coach Lucas McDonald said. “He’s so good.”

Holt’s acrobatic, left-handed layup at the third-quarter buzzer gave Buckhorn a 40-39 lead – the Bucks’ first lead of the game. He then blocked a shot, took a charge, dished an assist to Austen Childress, grabbed a steal and made two free throws to build an eight-point lead in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter.

Game over.

“Caleb again had another special performance,” Buckhorn coach Patrick Harding said.

Buckhorn (28-5) advances to play in Saturday’s title game against a Mountain Brook (26-7) or Carver-Montgomery (18-14). Tip-off for Saturday’s championship game is set for 2:15 p.m.

Remember! Holt was named MVP of the Class 6A tournament last season as a freshman.

Did you know? Helena was making its first trip to the state semifinals in school history.

“Nobody expected us to be sitting at the final four at the beginning of the year,” McDonald said. “This group accomplished so much and surprised a lot of people by getting here.”

Key stat: Holt made 11 of Buckhorn’s 19 shots from the field and 15 of the Bucks’ 20 free throws.

Stat sheet: Fred Derrick contributed 10 points, four rebounds and three steals for Buckhorn. … Josh Williams led Helena (24-8) with 17 points, seven rebounds, five steals and three assists, Ian Johnigan had 12 points, and Joseph King chipped in with nine points. … Holt played 30 minutes despite picking up two fouls in the first half. He did not commit a foul in the second half. … Holt attempted 15 free throws in the second half, while Helena’s team attempted 15 free throws in the game.

By the numbers: Buckhorn finished 19-of-47 shooting, including 2-for-17 from 3-point range and 20-of-27 at the line. … Helena made 17-of-39 shots, including 3-of-13 from 3-point range and 10-of-15 at the line. … Helena won the rebounding battle 31-25, but the Huskies committed 28 turnovers. … Buckhorn had 16 steals.

Coachspeak: “If we could keep it close, Caleb is the kind of guy who can make plays on both ends, that could sort of give us a surge.” — Harding

They said it …: “I told my teammates that it was going to come down to who was the better second-half team, and they were the better second-half team.” — Helena’s Johnigan

“Like Caleb said, it was win or go home. We ain’t going home.” — Buckhorn’s Jeremiah Wilson

What’s next? Buckhorn will try to repeat as 6A boys champ on Saturday, with the title-game tip-off set for 2:15 p.m.

This post will be updated.