Vigor forward Terrel Johnson could only talk about one thing after Wednesday’s Class 5A South Regional championship game.

“Defense wins game. Defense. It’s all about defense,” the senior said.

Defense has helped the fourth-ranked Wolves win 27 games this season.

On Tuesday, it helped them into the final four.

The Wolves scored 25 points off 21 Charles Henderson turnovers, pulling away for a 63-48 victory in the title game at Montgomery’s Garrett Coliseum.

“The stress of getting here and all the hard work since the summer and it comes to this one pivotal game,” Vigor coach Jarius Jackson said with a sigh of relief. “If you lose, your season is over. I just started to reflect on all the hard work we put in to get here. To see it materialize and earn a final spot in the final four is huge. We are one of the last four teams in this class to be playing next week, and that’s big and I think the guys deserve that. Our players, our community, they deserve it. They’ve worked so hard for that chance.”

The Wolves (27-6) will play Guntersville (20-10) in the 5A state semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena. The Wildcats defeated Scottsboro 62-58 to win the Northeast Regional.

“We’ve been talking about it all year,” Junior Aslan Jones said of reaching the final four.

Vigor bolted out to a 21-9 first-quarter lead Wednesday before Charles Henderson (21-11) closed the gap to 30-29 at the half. However, the Wolves never let go of the lead.

Vigor opened the third quarter on an 11-3 run and led 41-32 with 2:35 left in the third on two baskets by Jones and a free throw by Ke’Viasz Malone. The advantage grew to 49-36 entering the fourth, and Charles Henderson never got closer than 8, 49-41, in the final period.

“Difference was our toughness, our grit,” Jackson said. “Charles Henderson is very tough. They stopped us last year. They ended our season. Looking at them on film, I knew they would fight. I knew it would be a tough battle. I knew it would be back and forth, and I knew they went quick.

“They made a big surge in the second quarter. They cut our lead really fast. I told our guys we are going to have to play for four quarters. We have to defend. We have to keep going. This is why we do all the conditioning in the offseason. This is why I need them to show up in the summer. This is why we practice on Sunday afternoons – for this moment right here.”

Johnson and Jones each scored 13 to lead a balanced Vigor attack. Johnson also had 7 rebounds and 3 steals and was named tournament MVP. Al Holcombe scored 9. Bray Jones led Charles Henderson with 15 points, Jywon Boyd followed with 14 and Bradley Prestwood had 10.

“A lot of people like our offensive fireworks,” Jackson said. “They like our dunks. They like our 3-point shooting. But that is not what carried us. Our heartbeat is our defense. That is what has carried us all year long. We work on defense every day. We preach defense. Defense is what wins championships, and I’ve been preaching it to them, and they’ve bought into it. I’m so proud of them.”

By the numbers: Vigor was 22-of-44 from the field (50 percent), 4-of-17 from 3-point range (23.5 percent) and 15-of-22 from the foul line (68.2 percent). Charles Henderson was 18-of-52 from the field (34.6 percent), 6-of-17 from 3 (35.3 percent) and 6-of-9 from the foul line (66.7 percent). Vigor had a 36-16 edge in points in the paint and a 24-6 edge in bench points.

They said it:

“We practice defensive mentality. If we come out with the mentality of ‘hands up, defense,’ no one can stop us. If we come out aggressive, they are not going to fight back because of the way we play defense. Offense is going to come. Fastbreaks are going to come. Our whole team can score. All 15 of our players are athletes.” – Johnson.