Buckhorn freshman Caleb Holt had a short conversation with teammate Austen Childress early in the second half Wednesday with his team trailing McGill-Toolen by double digits.

“He came up and was like, ‘Give me the ball,’” Childress said. “So, I gave him the ball, and he went to work.”

The 6-foot-5 Holt scored 24 of his game-high 33 points in the second half as the Bucks charged back from a 12-point third-quarter deficit and beat No. 3 McGill-Toolen 65-57 in the Class 6A state semifinals at Legacy Arena in Birmingham.

“Caleb was phenomenal,” Buckhorn coach Patrick Harding said. “He shot it 17 times and scored 33 points. That’s pretty dang efficient. He asserted himself on both ends of the floor. He’s our catalyst. He makes us go. Obviously, everyone can see the points and rebounds, but his effort on defense effected the rest of us as well.”

RELATED: Live updates from Wednesday’s semifinals

Holt went 8-of-17 from the field and 16-of-19 from the free throw line. He hit his first 13 free throws. He also had 14 rebounds and five steals.

“The guy is going to be a pro one day,” McGill-Toolen coach Phillip Murphy said of Holt. “I had a guy like that last year (current Arkansas freshman and reigning Mr. Basketball Barry Dunning Jr.) They can do stuff other guys can’t do.”

After falling behind 8-0 at the start of the game and 12-9 at the end of the first quarter, McGill-Toolen (28-7) controlled most of the next two quarters. The Yellow Jackets, who had won 19 straight coming in, led 30-27 at the half on Bennett Russ’ fadeaway 3-pointer at the buzzer.

McGill started the second half with an 11-2 run and led 41-29 on Russ’ layup with 4:49 left in the quarter.

“They were no-catching him (Holt) at the end of the first half, and it gave us some problems especially with three starters in foul trouble,” Harding said. “We were kind of playing with one-hand behind our back offensively. There was no great message when we were down other than I thought we could drive on them and get in the paint and finish better.”

That task largely belonged to Holt. After McGill took its 41-29 lead, Holt scored 18 of the next 22 points for his team. His free throws with 5:32 left gave Buckhorn a 50-49 lead. They did not trail again.

“I work hard day in and day out,” Holt said. “When the game gets tough, that is where that work comes in.”

Buckhorn’s 10-0 run that included Holt’s lead-changing free throws gave the Bucks a 56-49 advantage. The Yellow Jackets got back within 60-57 on a pair of Alex Heim free throws with 1:29 left and had a chance to tie the game after a Heim steal. However, Russ missed a 3-pointer and Buckhorn (27-7) scored the final five points.

Star of the game: Not much question. Holt, who only recently turned 15.

Stat sheet: Buckhorn – No player besides Holt finished in double figures. Childress had seven points, 10 rebounds and four assists. McGill – Russ led the Yellow Jackets with 20 points. Devin McCaine followed with 14. Alex Shamburger had eight.

By the numbers: Buckhorn outscored McGill 28-12 in the paint and outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 39-30. Buckhorn was just 2-of-10 from the 3-point line. The Bucks didn’t take a 3 in the second half, focusing on getting the ball to Holt on the inside. They were 25-of-32 from the foul line. McGill was 9-of-28 from 3-point land and 14-of-20 from the free throw line.

They said it:

“That was a grind. It is what we advertised to our kids. A lot of credit goes to McGill. They play a physical, tough brand of basketball. The way they move on offense and the way they shot it in the first half gave us some problems.” – Harding.

“I just got done talking to our guys. I know they are disappointed. This was a heck of a game between two really talented teams. These guys have shocked and surprised everyone all year. They’ve done the same for me. This is one of the best teams in Alabama. If there were any questions about that, I think our guys answered it today. We just weren’t able to make enough plays when we needed to but hats off to these guys. I wouldn’t have imagined in a million years we would have been battling for a state title.” – Murphy.

“This means a lot to our community. New Market and Buckhorn has been known for basketball all my life. It’s an honor to represent them and advance this far. It’s something we sat out to do in June, and it has come to fruition.” – Harding.

Next up: Buckhorn will play for its first state title since 1995 at 2:15 Saturday against either Mountain Brook or Paul Bryant.