Micah Caster’s mom, LaTunja, played in the first final four in Birmingham in 1994.

Thirty years later, her son had the game of a lifetime.

The senior guard connected on seven 3-pointers and finished with 30 points as top-ranked Jackson ran away from American Christian in the fourth quarter Friday for a 56-43 victory in the Class 4A championship game at Legacy Arena.

“That is who he is,” Jackson coach Anthony Hayes said of Caster. “It’s what he’s been doing all year. I’m glad and proud he got to do it on the big stage for everyone to see. He’s a special kid. We knew we would go as far as he would take us. He took us to a state title tonight.”

Jackson’s 20th straight victory clinched the school’s first state basketball title. The Aggies finished 30-2 overall.

“What a fun game to be a part of,” Hayes said. “Anytime you can make a state title game, it’s a big deal. A lot of people didn’t believe, but we grew and got better and better and now we call ourselves state champs.”

Even though Caster had 15 points, the rest of the Aggies struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the first half. They trailed underdog American Christian 26-22 after Justin Michael Allen hit a 3 at the buzzer for the Patriots, who tired to slow the game down as much as possible against the more athletic Aggies.

“They didn’t do anything different,” Hayes said. “We had to understand who they were and their identity. We were ready for it, but we couldn’t simulate it. We had to get into the flow of what they were doing. I asked our guys at half if they were doing anything we didn’t expect. The answer was no. We didn’t have to change anything. We just had to be better in the second half.”

Caster hit three 3s in the third quarter and his layup at the buzzer allowed Jackson to finally wrestle the lead away from ACA at 40-39. Samuel Holt’s basket to open the fourth gave the Patriots the lead back at 41-40, but that was their final advantage. Jackson responded with a 15-0 run to salt the win away.

“This feels great,” sophomore Landon Duckworth said. “We told the coach we were going to win a state championship, and we made it happen.”

Star of the game: Easy. Caster was 9-of-14 from the field overall, 7-of-8 from 3-point range and 5-of-6 from the free throw line.

“It was one of those games where the flow stays on,” he said. “It was a game where the rim was as big as can be. Every time I shot it, I felt like it was going in. I’m glad it happened on the big stage where we needed it.”

Stat sheet: Jackson — Duckworth finished with 10 points. Keeyun Chapman had 5 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. American Christian – Davis Dare had 11 points. Samuel Holt followed with 10. Justin Michael Allen had 9.

By the numbers: Jackson was 19-of-36 from the field, 9-of-13 from 3 and 9-of-17 from the foul line. ACA was 14-of-38, 3-of-14 from 3 and 12-of-15 from the foul line. The rebounds were even at 24-24.

Big series: Midway through the fourth quarter, Keeyun Chapman made three game-altering plays in a row for Jackson. His layup gave the Aggies a 44-41 lead with 4:39 left in the game. He followed that with an emphatic rejection of Eric Hines on the other end and a steal moments later, leading to Joseph Taylor’s basket and a 46-41 lead.

“Our identity has been on defense all year,” Hayes said. “We wanted to try to get stops. If you watched Keeyun over the last two days, that is who he is. When he makes a play like that (the block), it excites everyone and gets everyone going.”

Did you know? American Christian interim coach Austin Grammer took over in November when head coach Blake Thrasher was diagnosed with Leukemia. Thrasher was in the stands for both of the team’s final four games.

“In the lockeroom, we wanted to do it for him,” Samuel Holt said. “That hurts a little more. I feel like we made him happy getting here, but it hurts a little more since we didn’t get it done for him.”

Coachspeak:

“This was my fourth trip here. You never know if you are going to get back or not. I’ve got a red map in my office, and I look at it every day. If you want to be different, you have to do something different. I can move it now. I’ve got a Blue map for the great city of Jackson.” – Hayes.

This post will be updated