Even while Fayetteville Pine Forest was shaving the Comets’ 19-point lead to three in the final minutes, the Clayton boys’ basketball head coach was confident his team would hold on.

Not even the Comets’ playoff history of recent years could shake his faith.

That faith was rewarded Thursday night as Clayton held on for a 74-69 victory over the Trojans in the semifinal round of the NCHSAA Eastern 4-A Sectional IV Tournament.

Despite a less-than stellar 13-for-23 performance down the stretch at the free throw line, the Comets were able to withstand the furious fourth-quarter rally by Pine Forest, which included seven 3-pointers by the Trojans.

“As much as it didn’t look like it,” Medlin said of Pine Forest’s rally, “I thought we were in complete control. I thought we would get a defensive stop or two, and hit some free throws to stop their rally.

“But when a team throws in seven 3-pointers, we were fortunate that we had a big enough lead to hold on.”

The triumph snapped a recent string of failures by the Comets in the semifinal round of the sectionals and extended their win streak to 15 games. Clayton is still perfect in 2008.

It also propelled Clayton, now 27-2, into tonight’s (Friday) sectional championship game against Apex in the Comets’ gymnasium at 7. Apex topped Cap-Seven Conference champion Millbrook, 50-49, for its second straight road playoff victory on Thursday night.

Tonight’s winner will advance to the NCHSAA Eastern 4-A Regional Tournament, to be held next week in East Carolina University’s Minges Coliseum.

“I’ve had three teams win 24 games,” Medlin said. “But I’ve never had a team to win 27 games, and I’ve never been to Greenville before.

“That’s a dream that every team has.”

The Comets appeared to be breezing towards that goal, blitzing the Trojans with trapping full and half-court presses, jumping to a 25-15 lead by the end of the first quarter.

That lead increased steadily throughout the second and third quarters, reaching 59-40 behind the double figures scoring of Clint Mixon (21 points), Jarrell Moses (10), Brandon McPhatter (11) and Mark Parker (12).

That quartet, along with Antwan Ray and Tim Williams, provided the Comets with effective full and half-court traps which forced the Trojans into 22 turnovers, which included 12 steals.

Mixon, whose 31-point output led the Comets to an 86-78 opening round triumph over Athens Drive Tuesday night, accounted for four steals, while along with Smith, constantly frustrated the Trojans.

The duo also set the plate for the Comets on offense, with Mixon providing floor generalship by pushing the ball up the floor while Smith dished out six assists.

Despite their efforts, the Trojans, who had struggled from the floor in the first three quarters, began to find the range in the final eight minutes, hitting 10-of-20 shots, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range.

But as hot as the Trojans were, they couldn’t set off the school’s fire alarms as had the concession stand’s popcorn cooker on two occasions Tuesday.

And they couldn’t quite complete the comeback.

While the Trojans were hitting from the floor, Clayton struggled from the line, connecting on 2-of-7 in one stretch and 0-of-4 on another, as Pine Forest closed within 69-66 with a minute to play.

Leading the rally for the Trojans were Lorenzo McRae and Ryan McRae, both with a pair of 3s in the rally.

“We played great,” Medlin said, “Although it may not look like it the way they came back. But it’s the second round of the playoffs — it’s not supposed to be easy.”

Ray led the Trojans with 19 points while McLean added 12.

Mixon, who needed a breather early in the quarter for his all-around play, hit his next four free throws, and McPhatter added another, as the Comets pulled away in the final seconds.