The Cornerstone Christian boys basketball team is eight quarters away from making it two-in-a-row.

After starting this season 0-6 the Chargers tore through the remainder of the regular season, winning 14-of-16 games and second-straight area and regional championships along the way.

Head coach Tim Smith&8217;s squad will make its bid for a second-straight AISA Class 1A state title today as they tip off against Marion Military Institute at 5:30 p.m. at Huntingdon College in Montgomery.

&8220;They&8217;re by far the best team left,&8221; Smith said of MMI. &8220;They&8217;re very talented and we&8217;re going to have to work hard to find a way to beat them.&8221;

MMI&8217;s Jevarious Smith is the biggest threat for the defending state champs.

&8220;He&8217;s been the player of the year the last two seasons,&8221; Smith said. &8220;We have to find a way to stop him and that&8217;s going to be difficult.&8221;

The Chargers made their way to the Class 1A Final Four after narrowly defeating Lowndes Academy 45-40 last Thursday. CCS shot under 30 percent from the floor in the game.

&8220;We shot very poorly in that game,&8221; Smith said. &8220;Our defense played great for us, and we were able to hang in there.&8221;

Smith said he credits the play of senior guard Ty Youngblood and sophomore forward Avery Alexander for the team&8217;s success in the postseason. Youngblood scored 16 points in the win over Lowndes while Alexander netted 11 points and pulled down nine rebounds.

&8220;Ty has really been playing well for us,&8221; Smith said, &8220;and Avery has just decided that he owns the backboard.&8221;

With a win in Montgomery tonight, Cornerstone would

face the winner of the Autauga Academy and Warrior Academy game at 7 p.m. in the championship