The two teams battled back-and-forth throughout the first half, with Crenshaw Christian’s 13-9 lead early in the second quarter accounting for the largest lead by either team in the opening half until Moore’s jumper at the buzzer sent the Chargers into the locker room into halftime with a 21-16 lead.

Moore scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half.

The Cougars outscored Cornerstone Christian 11-5 in the third quarter to take a one-point lead into the final period.

Joiner’s fastbreak layup with 4:50 remaining in the game started the Chargers’ 13-2 scoring run in the final quarter and gave Cornerstone Christian the lead for good.

Crenshaw Christian cut the lead to five points with 1:28 remaining, but the Chargers hit just enough free throws down the stretch to hold off the Cougars in the final minute.

Smith couldn’t watch his players’ free-throw attempts late in the game, as he turned and looked into the crowd, down at the floor and up at the ceiling on multiple occasions.

“To be honest, this team defends so well, but we are terrible free-throw shooters,” Smith said. “We’ve tried to hide it.”

The pride among Cornerstone Christian faithful couldn’t be hidden, with a wave of supporters wearing purple and yellow enveloping the players in the stands moments after the game ended. The crowd included several players who were on the school’s first state championship team in 2005.

“It’s special,” Smith said. “Anytime you’ve got kids coming back, it means the care. We were well represented.”