Most Valuable Player Devin McCaine scored 23 points Wednesday morning as Class 6A No. 3 McGill-Toolen pulled away from Blount in the final quarter to advance to another final four.

The Yellow Jackets won 65-46 at Montgomery’s Garrett Coliseum, the team’s 19th straight victory. McGill hasn’t lost since falling to Class 7A Sparkman on Dec. 20.

The win sends Phillip Murphy’s team to the final four for the second straight year and the fifth time since 2016. The Yellow Jackets won the 7A title in 2016.

RELATED: Wednesday’s regional scores, highlights

“It’s crazy,” Murphy said. “The job is not done, but I don’t think anyone counted on McGill-Toolen going back to the final four this year. What the guys have done is remarkable, but we are not done. It’s a two-game season. We’ve got to get ready for Buckhorn now.”

McGill (29-6) outscored Blount 18-9 in the first quarter and didn’t trail after the opening minutes of the game. The Yellow Jackets led 33-22 at the half and expanded the margin to 40-25 on McCaine’s layup with 5:06 left in the third quarter.

However, the Leopards (23-7) didn’t go away easily. A 10-0 Blount run capped by a pair of Joseph Paige free throws cut the McGill lead to 40-35 with 2:22 left in the third. Jackson Murphy’s 3-pointer stopped the run and gave the Yellow Jackets a 43-35 lead. They led just 44-39 after three.

“We were just playing hard in that third quarter,” Blount coach Demarcus Mosley said. “We didn’t change anything scheme wise. We were just able to get out and run some, but we missed some transition layups and that hurt us. In those type games, you have to convert every opportunity.”

McGill scored the first eight points of the final quarter on baskets by McCaine, Bennett Russ and Ray Andrews and an Andrews free throw and led 52-39 with 5:47 left. The Leopards didn’t get closer than 10 points the rest of the way. In the final quarter alone, McGill had the advantage in points in the paint (12-4), points off turnovers (6-0) and fast break points (9-0).

“Basketball being a game of runs, I told our guys they would make a run,” Murphy said. “They are phenomenal on the break. They have a lot of team speed. We missed some shots in the third quarter and long rebounds led to buckets for them. We couldn’t catch them. In the fourth quarter, we knocked down some shots and finished on the back end of the press.”

Star of the game: As he was in the regional semifinals, McCaine was again pivotal for McGill. He was 9-of-15 from the field and 3-of-4 from the free throw line. He also had six assists, four rebounds and two steals.

Stat sheet: McGill-Toolen – Russ finished with 16 points and eight rebounds. Andrews had 12 points, six rebounds and two assists. Blount – Devontaey Woulard led the way with 22 points and five rebounds. Paige was the only other Leopard in double figures with 14 points. Antonio Jackson had eight points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots.

By the numbers: McGill shot 46 percent from the field (25-of-54), 33 percent from 3-point range (6-of-18) and 81 percent from the free throw line (9-of-11). Blount shot 33 percent from the field (18-of-54), 14 percent from 3-point range (2-of-14) and 67 percent from the free throw line (8-of-12). Rebounds were even at 34. McGill had overall advantages in points in the paint (36-26), points off turnovers (17-8), fast break points (20-12) and bench points (7-0).

They said it:

“I didn’t see it coming. There were moments this summer where I was like, ‘Huh, we are pretty good.’ But I didn’t think we were going back to Birmingham type good. The resolve of this group and the way they play together is unlike any other team we’ve had. They are not the biggest, not the most talented or athletic, but they play as a team and prepare as a team.” – Murphy on his team’s success this season.

“Their best players came to play and our best players did not. We missed a lot of layups and free throws. I think we got outhustled for every loose ball, every second-chance point. They beat us in every aspect – offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds. They looked like they weren’t ready to go home. We looked like we were happy to be there.” – Mosley.

“There is nothing for our guys to hang their heads about. We had a great season. We made it to the Elite 8. The Blount boys had not been here in a while. We did a lot of good things, beat a lot of great teams. We just fell short today when it mattered most.” — Mosley

Next up: McGill will play Buckhorn at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in the Class 6A state semifinals at Legacy Arena in Birmingham. The Bucks upset previously undefeated and No. 1-ranked Pinson Valley on Wednesday.