There was only one thing on the mind of the top-ranked Jackson Aggies on Tuesday night at Legacy Arena.

“Just play,” senior Micah Caster said. “We don’t worry about the crowd or the gym. We are just here to play ball and win the title.”

The Aggies are one step away from that last goal.

Caster scored 22 points and Jackson broke open a close game with a 14-2 run to open the fourth, knocking off DAR 71-61 in the Class 4A boys state semifinals. The win sends the Aggies (28-2) into Friday’s final against American Christian.

“A lot of people didn’t think we would be here,” coach Anthony Hayes said. “This group believed from Day 1. Now, we get to play for a state title. We will continue to work to get better, but we’re excited to play another game.”

Jackson has now won 19 straight games since its last loss. The Aggies trailed DAR 37-36 after Dezmond Nichols’ 3-pointer with 2:56 left in the third quarter. Jackson’s William Taylor then went on a personal 7-0 run to give his team the lead for good. The Aggies settled for a 43-40 advantage heading into the final eight minutes.

“We knew who they were and what they liked to do,” Hayes said of DAR. “They are a good ballclub, well coached. They mixed it up on us defensively, but I knew once we settled down we would be OK.”

That happened to start the fourth. Taylor had a pair of emphatic dunks in an 11-0 run to open the period. Then — after a jump shot by Nichols — a free throw by Nasir Powell and two more by Landon Duckworth gave Jackson its largest lead of the night at 57-42 with 4:14 left.

“Our identity all year has been playing defense,” Hayes said. “Once they lock in and start to play as a group, we feel like we can play with anyone in the state. We started the fourth and just decided, ‘Let’s be who we are and do what we do and get the job done.’”

The Patriots (25-10) got as close as eight in the final minutes – the final time at 63-55 on Trey Bolt’s layup – but could get no closer.

“It comes down to missed shots,” DAR coach Justin Jonus said. “We missed a couple of easy shots there early in the fourth, maybe a few open shots. They shot free throws unbelievably (22-of-28). That’s hard to overcome. Rebounding was a key for us, and it was 32-31. That’s a great job by us. But it always comes down to key points and key possessions, and we couldn’t put enough of those together at the right time.”

Star of the game: Caster was Jackson’s most consistent player, but Taylor ignited the Aggies in the second half. He scored 12 of his 16 points after the break and also finished with 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals.

Stat sheet: Jackson – Duckworth finished with 12 points, hitting 4-of-5 free throws down the stretch. Nasir Powell and Keeyun Chapman each scored 8. Powell also had 10 rebounds. DAR – Nichols led the Patriots with 22 points. He also had 8 rebounds. Bolt finished with 11 points as did Peyton Eggleston. Nate Hardin scored 8.

By the numbers: Jackson was 23-of-47 from the field (48.9 percent), 3-of-9 from 3-point range and 22-of-28 from the foul line. DAR was 22-of-60 from the field (36.7 percent), 8-of-23 from 3 (34.8 percent) and 9-of-12 from the foul line (75 percent). There were 13 lead chances and 7 ties in the game.

They said it:

“There is a lot of history in playing for the school’s first title, but what is history if you can’t break it. I’m glad to be here with this group – my family, my brothers. Hopefully, we can win Friday and take home the blue map.” – Caster.

“First time Jackson has been in a championship game. We are ready to play.” – Powell.

“It’s hard to tackle right now. I told the guys that 50 percent of the teams in the final four go home. Being here was a blessing. We were basically a Cinderella story from where we started to where we are now. These guys fought so hard, responded to so many calls. We just came up short tonight.” – Jonus.

Next up: Jackson battles American Christian (27-7) at 5:45 p.m. Friday for the 4A championship. The Patriots defeated Deshler in Tuesday’s other semifinal. Neither team has ever won a state title.