Legendary Alabama high school basketball coach Jack Doss has jokes.

The Grissom boys basketball coach introduced himself as the eldest figure in biblical literature to open the post-game press conference after leading his fifth different program to a regional final.

“Well, I’m Coach Methuselah,” Doss said. “I mean, Jack Doss. Been called worse.”

Grissom led by double-digits early in the final frame but had to fend off a quick rally to secure a 47-38 victory over Chelsea in Tuesday’s Class 7A Northeast Regional boys semifinal at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.

“First time they’ve been here in seven years,” Doss said. “We started two Division I players last year, and we should have won it but we had a guy not do what he’s supposed to do and I need to do a better job of coaching. These guys focused on winning and took it upon themselves to learn the system and play it. I’m so proud of them for getting here.”

Grissom (18-13) responded to an opening basket from Chelsea in taking a 10-6 lead late in the first period, but the Hornets knotted the score up twice on free throws before Grissom’s Griffin Grigsby knocked down a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Chelsea scored to open consecutive quarters but went 2-of-5 from the field in the second period as the Tigers built a 26-16 lead heading into the halftime break.

The Hornets quickly trimmed the deficit below double digits in the first two minutes of the second half and cut it to 31-27 on a 3-pointer from Avery Futch, who had seven points in the third period. Landen Williams added a pair of free throws and Justin McCall scored on a mid-range jumper to push the Grissom lead to eight points entering the fourth.

Chelsea (13-19) allowed a quick bucket from McCall to push the lead back to 10 points early in the fourth period but pulled within two possessions on a 6-0 run powered by Jaxon Shuttlesworth. Futch and Christen Whetstone answered on back-to-back layups, building Grissom’s lead up six points, and went 6-of-6 on free throws to clinch the win over the Hornets.

Did you know? Grissom advances to its first regional final since 2014. The Tigers have four state tournament appearances and two state titles (1988, 1999). Chelsea has never appeared in a regional final.

Did you know? Part Duex: Grissom coach Jack Doss has won 10 state titles between four schools, doing so at Jemison, J.O. Johnson (twice), Butler (five times) and Hayes (twice). He is one win away from taking his fifth program to the state tournament.

By the numbers: Both teams were almost identical in the box score, making 13 field goals and three 3-pointers each, but Grissom was 18-of-20 at the charity stripe while the Hornets were 9-of-14 at the line. Chelsea earned a plus-5 edge in rebounding and a plus-2 advantage on interior scoring.

Stat sheet: Grissom – McCall led the Tigers with a game-high 17 points, followed by Brendan Martin with 12 points and five rebounds. Williams added 10 points and four rebounds and T.J. Cole and Grigsby had three points each. Chelsea – The Hornets were led by Futch with 12 points and five rebounds, followed by Shuttlesworth with 10 points and five rebounds. Aiden Owens had six points, three rebounds and three assists, and Gavin Collett added five points.

Coachspeak: “I thought we played pretty well for bringing in a new team that hadn’t played under this kind of pressure. My system takes guys being mentally tough, and they ran it. To beat the best, you got to execute the best. We did a really good job in the last few minutes of controlling play.” — Grissom’s Jack Doss

“My guys didn’t quit one bit. They fought their tails off to get it down. We had the ball and had a call not go our way. It was a good call, but it didn’t go our way. We put ourselves in position to win, and we just fell short.” — Chelsea’s Nick Baumbaugh

They said it: “Ever since I’ve been at Grissom, I’ve been a backup man, a reserve, and I felt like, and everyone else on this time can say the same, we deserved to have a bigger role and make a bigger impact. Those great players who left, it helped us, mentally, how to play with better players and how to handle pressure.” — Justin McCall

“We had a chip on our shoulder ever since the summer. Teams said we wouldn’t be here and we’re here now. It’s good to be here.” — Brendan Martin

“We play more together now. We all know each other. It’s a brotherhood.” – Landen Williams

What’s next? Grissom advances to face either Oak Mountain or No. 1 Huntsville in Tuesday’s Northeast Regional final at Jacksonville State’s Pete Mathews Coliseum.