Blackman ‘s Jarrell Reeves goes up in for a dunk during the Class AAA state tournament semifinal game against Memphis East on Friday March 18, 2016, at MTSU.

MURFREESBORO — Third-ranked Memphis East ended top-ranked Blackman’s season Thursday, beating the Blaze 46-41 in a Class AAA semifinal in the TSSAA Boys Basketball State Championships.

The loss was the first this season for the Blaze (33-1) and propels the Mustangs (31-2) to Saturday’s championship game against Cordova. Tip off is 1 p.m.

Trailing 44-41 in the waning moments, Blaze point guard Donovan Sims drove to the basket and was about to pass to Deonte Alley for a 3-pointer, but lost the ball under the basket. East collected it and called a timeout. Lawson ended the game on a dunk as time expired when the Blaze didn’t foul.

Christian DeWitt led Blackman with 19 points, including three 3-pointers. Cedriontis Wilson finished with eight points.

Terrance Moss led East with 13 points. Chandler Lawson added 12 and six rebounds.

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Kreager.