Ramsay’s Jalen Jones and QB Reese are on the verge of becoming two of the winningest players in school history.

Not program history. School history.

Both Jones and Reece helped lead the Ramsay football team to a state title only three months ago and are now two wins away from lifting a Blue Map for the boys basketball team.

“It’s a great feeling,” Jones said. “Coming straight off the football field, we had a game that Monday, and we came straight back ready to work. You can’t take any days off and that’s what has got us here. We put our heads down and worked and we’re going back to the final four.”

The top-ranked Rams trailed for only 32 seconds but had to fend off a furious rally for a 62-54 victory over No. 2 Fairfield in Thursday’s Class 4A Northwest Regional final at Wallace-Hanceville’s Tom Drake Coliseum.

Ramsay (26-6) fell behind 4-2 in the first two minutes but grabbed a lead it would not relinquish on a 7-0 run, ignited by consecutive 3-pointers from Kerrington Kiel and Montez Dunson. The Tigers hit a 4-0 spurt in the ensuing minute but the Rams closed out the opening period on a 10-2 run — Reese scoring five points and Dunson jumpstarting the surge off his only other 3-pointer (2-of-2) in the game — to carry a 10-point lead into the second frame.

The Rams built their largest lead of the game on a 5-0 run in the first minute of the second period but the complete 15-2 run came to an end on a Josiah Jones layup, which ignited a 10-3 run from Fairfield to trim the lead down to 27-19 with 2:21 left in the half. Both teams matched buckets to close out the frame as Ramsay held a 33-26 lead at the halftime break.

Zedrick Powell broke the lid for Ramsay to open the second half and added a single free throw during a 7-1 run Fairfield used to cut the lead down to three points midway through the third period. Reese quelled the run with consecutive buckets and Powell punctuated the period with a 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving the Rams a 43-36 lead entering the final stanza.

Fairfield (25-10) did not go quietly in the fourth period and pulled to within two points, 49-47, on an 11-6 run powered by DeMarcus Williams, who bookended the run with a 3-pointer and a layup with 3:33 left in the game. The Rams responded with a 6-0 run over the next two minutes and never allowed the advantage to dip below four points in the last minute as Jones scored the final five points for Ramsay.

Did you know? Ramsay advances to a fifth straight state tournament and eighth in the past decade. The Rams won state titles in 2006 and 2010.

All-Tournament Team: Ramsay’s Jalen Jones was named tournament MVP and teammate Kerrington Kiel was selected to the all-tournament team. Joining them were Fairfield’s Noah King and Josiah Jones, Russellville’s EJ King and Madison Academy’s Cody Baerlocher.

By the numbers: Ramsay finished shooting 43.6 percent overall – 35.7 percent from beyond range – and held a plus-10 edge in rebounding. Fairfield shot 44.7 percent from the field but was 8-for-18 from the charity stripe.

Stat sheet: Ramsay – Jalen Jones led the Rams with 17 points, adding six rebounds, seven assists and two steals, and Reese finished with 17 points and nine boards. Kiel had nine points, seven rebounds and two blocks, followed by Powell with eight points, five boards and two blocks, and Dunson had nine points and three assists. Fairfield – Josiah Jones finished with a game-high 27 points on 10-of-19 shooting, followed by Williams with 14 points. King had 11 points, six boards, five assists and two steals, and Darrian Johnsin contributed two points and eight rebounds.

Coachspeak: “Sometime X’s and O’s go out the window. We had a goal we put on the board before we went out at halftime, and it was 50. That is, if we hold them to 50 with our defense, we win the game and we’ll be in the final four. Not our best shooting performance but the kids dug deep and showed mental toughness. That won the game down the stretch. Just a gutsy performance by our team.” — Ramsay’s Denton Johnson

“We fell short today. As I told my boys all year, you can’t win close games if you don’t make free throws and it came back to haunt us today. We cut to two or one and every time we’d get fouled, we’d go up there and miss the free throw. We just didn’t play really well and couldn’t make our free throws. I said last year — the good thing about it, they’ll be back next year.” — Fairfield’s Maurice Ford

They said it: “It’s a blessing to be able to play both sports and compete at such a high level. There’s no drop-off. As soon as football is over with, straight into basketball. It’s as simple as that.” — Reese, who is expected to play football on the college level

“We have unfinished business. We’ve been here before and now we have to get over that hump.” — Kiel

What’s next? Ramsay advances to face Charles Henderson at 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the state semifinal at BJCC’s Legacy Arena.