That ultimate dream of an unbeaten state championship is just “One Game” away.

Behind 25-points from 'do-everything' senior guard Jerrod Gaston and a quickness level that their opponent Pittsfield couldn't match for 32-minutes – the Devils advanced to Saturday night's championship game with a 49-35 win at Carver Arena on Friday night.

Coach Daryl Murphy's team remained undefeated while improving to 35-0 on the season.

The formula for the success has been very simple.

Get the ball to Gaston and let him do his thing.

His thing is scoring and distribution.

Driving to the basket, hitting the mid-range shot or finding his open teammates – Gaston shined as he took his game to yet another level on his biggest stage.

Gaston stepped up his defensive game – putting the clamp down on Pittsfield's all-state guard Brad Hamilton – shutting him down in the fourth quarter.

“It was a hard fought ballgame and I thought our quickness would have given them more trouble than it did tonight but I thought in the second half it began to take its toll,” said Murphysboro head coach Daryl Murphy. “They (Pittsfield) took care of the ball awfully well. They caused us some trouble with their back-door cuts which we knew that they would do. And 24 (Hamilton) hit some tough 3's there for them in the first half. I thought Jerrod (Gaston) did a great job on him in the second half.”

Hamilton finished with 12-points but didn't score in the final eight minutes.

“Denial. I just didn't want him to get the ball that much. I just played good, solid half-court defense and I trusted my teammates,” said Murphysboro's Jerrod Gaston about guarding Hamilton.

And - as Murphysboro did in their supersectional win over Breese Central last Tuesday night – Gaston's teammates stepped up as well.

Dylan Craig and Orlando Jarrett hit huge fourth quarter shots and the Red Devils connected on just enough free throws to pull away from Pittsfield for the triumph.

Coach Murphys' club hit 11-of-15 free throws in the fourth quarter and 15-of-22 for the contest.

Pittsfield – who was unranked and unheralded – gave the Red Devils all they wanted for three quarters but eventually wilted under the defensive pressure caused by the Murphysboro quickness.

The Saukees finished 10-of-29 from the floor and were just 4-of-12 from the 3-point line.

Gaston himself was a very productive 9-of-17 from the floor as he led the Devils who were 15-of-33 for the game.

Craig finished with nine points while Orlando Jarrett ended up with eight very important points.

Craig scored five straight points to open the fourth quarter on a 3-pointer and a nice spin move in the paint.

Jarrett took advantage of his teammate's assists by burying a pair of big 3-point shots.

His second bomb from the left wing on a pass from Pierre House at the 3:28 mark pushed the Murphysboro lead to 41-33 which was part of a game completing 9-0 surge.

Pittsfield fell to 28-6 after the loss and Coach Brad Tomhave's club had its chances but couldn't come up with enough points at the end.

The Saukees missed five consecutive shots in the final minutes and fell into the third place game on Saturday.

“The late game situations didn't go our way,” said Pittsfield head coach Brad Tomhave. “We turned the ball over a couple of times and we had to start fouling. And they (Murphysboro) made their free throws.”

Pittsfield played well early and were right with the Red Devils for the first three quarters.

Hamilton hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter and his second trey before the first quarter horn cut the Murphysboro lead to just 14-12.

Gaston put in a couple of big shots in the low scoring second quarter on drives to the basket.

A steal and fast break lay in made it 21-19 Red Devils.

But Hamilton continued to get open for good looks at the basket.

His drive in the lane finished the first half scoring at 21-all.

Pittsfield's final lead of the game came early in the second half with 6-foot-6 junior Dalton Hoover scoring five points to give the Saukees a 26-23 lead.

A pair of free throws and then a long 3-pointer from the top of the arc with 6:35 remaining in the third quarter gave the Pittsfield faithful plenty to cheer about.

However Gaston scored six of his team's seven points to close out the quarter to take back command for good.

Gaston got to the basket on drives with the second coming on a Craig steal and feed.

Gaston's basket with :45 left made it 30-26 Murphy.

“Our kids have been in some tough situations this year and they have pulled out every one,” added Coach Murphy. “Tonight was just another example.”

The fourth quarter – and eventually to verdict – belonged to the Red Devils as they will face Hales Franciscan on Saturday night.

The Spartans downed previously undefeated Rockford Christian 56-43 in the other semifinal.

“It's my dream. I can't believe it,” said Jarrod Gaston – talking about playing for a state championship. “We work hard all of the time. We just wanted to come out and show our fans what we have showed them all year. I just take what they give me. I like to get out to a good start and get my teammates going.”