For Tucker Gambrill, it was “don’t do anything stupid and play the best defense of our lives.”

For Garrison Sharpe, it was seeing the smiles break out after realizing they “had it in the bag.”

Although each and every Bearcat searched inwardly for his thoughts in that particular moment, the all-encompassing feeling as the buzzer sounded inside Legacy Area — crammed high and low with Black and Gold fans young and old — was one appropriately reserved for a crowning achievement that will be remembered for years to come.

Unbridled elation.

Tucker Cagle scored a team-high 12 points, the Bearcats used another solid third quarter to build a lead and Cullman (29-3) capped off one heck of a run on Saturday with a 58-50 victory versus Huffman in the Class 6A championship to claim the program’s first-ever state title.

“This is crazy,” Cagle said. “We were getting really excited, but we had to keep our composure out there — and I think we did a great job of that. It’s unbelievable for our city, our team, our community … it just means the world to us. I’m so happy that it happened.”

Count Max Gambrill as a member of that same group.

“It all came together for us,” he said. “I feel like a little kid again. Everybody dreams about this, and we made it come true. We turned it into reality.”

Stu Stuedeman, meanwhile, enjoyed the celebration just as much as his players.

The experience wholly humbled the first-year head coach, who tried his best to put it all into perspective.

“I was just thinking about how happy I was for our guys at that moment,” he said. “For me, every time I’ve had something go not so well in life, I just kind of took the positive from it and tried to grow from it as a man and a coach. It’s just so wonderful … that I can be part of something like this. It made me think about my wife and how unbelievable she’s been throughout the season and my whole life. It also made me think about the administration. I couldn’t believe they chose me and trusted me. It’s just unbelievable.”

Max Gambrill and Cagle combined for 11 points in the first quarter, helping the Bearcats notch a 16-15 cushion after eight minutes.

Cullman bumped its lead to 22-17 midway through the second period following a floater by Cagle, but the Vikings closed the final four minutes on a 6-3 run to pull to within two (25-23) at halftime.

The Bearcats, though, did what they’ve done so often during this inspired run — dominate the third quarter.

Tucker Gambrill tickled the twine on an early 3-pointer, Sam Duskin followed with a layup and Max Gambrill pitched in a pair of free throws to give Cullman a 32-23 lead. Jamar Kay added five points later in the frame, and a Cagle bucket following an offensive rebound allowed the Bearcats to enter the fourth quarter holding a 39-32 advantage.

“It’s just our never-quit attitude,” Cagle said. “We’re going to keep coming at you and coming at you until you break. We wore those guys down and made them take bad shots. They were exhausted, and that’s when we take advantage of teams. It’s awesome to see that we’re so in shape that we’re going to break you down no matter what.”

Added Max Gambrill, who recalled Cullman’s grueling conditioning work in the offseason: “It’s not always fun being a second-half team (laughs), but we made it work.”

The ‘Cats led by as many as 12 points in the final period, but Huffman didn’t go away quietly.

The Vikings (29-7) trimmed their deficit to five points (50-45) on a Michael Johnson jumper with 1:10 left, and Garrison Sharpe missed a pair of free throws of the ensuing possession.

But the Bearcats had Cagle, and Huffman didn’t.

The junior skied for a crucial offensive rebound and passed the ball back out to Sharpe, who went a perfect 2-for-2 on his next trip to the charity stripe to bump the lead back to seven.

“Their guy is a big dude,” Cagle said. “But I knew Garrison missed his first one short and thought he might miss it short again. I just timed it and got the ball and got it back to him. He stepped up and knocked them down.”

For Sharpe, he was just happy to redeem himself.

“I was so mad I missed those, but I saw Tucker get it off the rim and knew I would get another chance,” he said. “I just had to clear my mind and take a deep breath. I needed to make those and, luckily, they went in.”

Cullman ended up closing the game with six more makes from the free-throw line — Sharpe, Tucker Gambrill and Tucker Apel each contributed two — and the only suspense that remained was how quickly the seconds were going to tick off on a win 90 years in the making.

Apel joined Cagle in double figures with 11 points, while Sharpe, Tucker Gambrill and Max Gambrill each recorded eight. Kay (five), Nate Zills (three), Duskin (two) and Colton Echols (one) also supplemented one last balanced offensive attack for the Bearcats.

Cagle and Tucker Gambrill were named co-MVPs and were joined on the All-Tournament Team by Max Gambrill.

Those donning sweat-drenched Black and Gold uniforms and sporting kids-being-kids smiles couldn’t hide their excitement levels in the aftermath of Saturday’s program-changing victory.

And while holding up the Blue Map trophy was certainly the crème de la crème, those who earned that shiny hardware through their perseverance spoke fondly of a long-and-winding journey — one initially rooted in belief and trust — that began when Stuedeman was hired in March 2021.

“It’s definitely going to be a highlight of my life,” Tucker Gambrill said. “This journey didn’t just show me how to be a good basketball player — it showed me how to work hard and what that can do. I wasn’t used to a coach getting on me or making mistakes, but coach Stu really showed me how to play the game right and what it takes to be a winner. Obviously, it paid off.”

Sharpe echoed those sentiments.

“The work was so hard,” he said. “And we feel like now we outworked everyone. In the end, it’s all worth it. This is the closest I’ve been with a team. Everybody poured their blood, sweat and tears into this. I really can’t believe it. I’m still speechless and shocked.”

Stuedeman, on the other hand, was more than happy to fill the air with ceaseless thanks.

As the initial wave of shock wore off with each passing second following the victory, the coach found himself getting more and more emotional.

Sure, the wins and accomplishments and historical season will always hold a special place in his heart.

But the everlasting relationships — those are what he’ll cherish long after the celebrations come to an end.

“What I’ll remember most is the people in that locker room,” he said. “Our kids are just fantastic. The people we have involved in this program are fantastic. My assistant coaches — Dylan Finch, Triston Chambers, Scott Broad and Josh Marshall. Scott Lochridge, our trainer. Sarge (David Drake), our PA and book guy. Our administration from Kim Hall to Aaron Sparks to Mark Stephens to Allison Tuggle to Mark Britton. Then, you have people like (baseball coach) Brent Patterson, who I don’t think missed a game. And you have (girls basketball coach) Josh Hembree and (football coach) Oscar Glasscock, who’ve been supportive. That’s what it’s all about. Yeah, we love that we’re state champions. You can’t ever take that away from us.

“But those relationships … those will last longer than a trophy ever will.”

Prophetic Words

Long before the Bearcats became state champions, Stuedeman was heading to a playdate in mid-June.

Along the way, he passed the Legacy Arena in Birmingham and decided to send a group text to his players.

The gist of the message was simple enough.

Visualize yourself playing there in the Final Four. Dream it. Believe it. Fight like heck to achieve it.

Little did he know just how much the team would take those words to heart.

“I just thought at the time that I’d send it,” Stuedeman said. “They might think I’m full of it or that I’m blowing smoke up their rear ends, but I meant it. I really did.”

That belief galvanized during his team’s come-from-behind win over St. Paul’s (La.) back in December.

“We were down nine points with three or four minutes to go and were able to win,” he said. “It wasn’t a pretty game, but I knew then we could win ugly or really pretty. We won games in the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s. If you can win all those types of games, you can win in the playoffs. When we won that game and came back like we did and showed grit and heart — I knew we had something special. We just had to stay healthy and stay together.”

Family Ties

Tucker Gambrill had a little extra motivation heading into Saturday’s championship game.

And it was all brought on by a conversation with his mother.

“She told me earlier this week that my dad had been three times and hadn’t won, and my sister had been two times and didn’t win,” he said. “I thought that I’ve been one time, and I better not mess it up. Rushing out there to get the Blue Map, it really felt good, because I beat everyone in my family (laughs).”

Bad Break

Max Gambrill didn’t have the most auspicious start to his state tournament.

The senior took a shot to his face early in Cullman’s semifinal victory over Park Crossing and received the bad news shortly afterward.

A broken nose — in four places, mind you.

“When it first happened, I knew it wasn’t good,” he said. “I went back to the locker room and got asked if my nose was normally crooked. I was like, ‘No.’ It didn’t really bother me in that game, but I’ve had some pretty bad headaches since. Right now, though, the adrenaline is going. It was totally worth it (laughs).”

Scary Moment

Cullman’s postgame press conference took an unexpected turn on Saturday when fans seeking shelter from reported gunshots inside the BJCC interrupted the proceedings.

According to AL.com’s Ben Thomas, Birmingham authorities said there was no active shooter and no evidence of shots being fired inside or outside of the arena.

Police also said the commotion started when officers had to break up multiple fights that started in the Legacy Arena and eventually moved outside.

“It was a weird deal,” said Stuedeman, who, along with his players, was escorted back to their locker room. “But when something like that happens, it’s just get our kids safe and go where we have to go to cover them up. It stinks it happened, but that didn’t take anything away from this.”

Added Cagle: “I was just in shock and like this can’t really be happening. It changed the mood so quickly, but I think the guys are good. I mean, heck, we just won the state championship. We are as high as can be.”