PLANTERSVILLE — Jerrod Moorer’s two steals in the final minute helped Dallas County hold off a late Wilcox Central rally Thursday in a 60-52 win in a matchup of teams that made the AHSAA Final 48 last season.

Dallas County (13-5) led by as many as 12 in the fourth quarter, but the Jaguars pulled within three with 2:40 left. After struggling from the line much of the evening, Moorer knocked in three free throws to help the Hornets break away.

“It’s a big win, but I don’t like the way we played,” Dallas County coach Willie Moore said. “We didn’t string together four good quarters. We played a really good first quarter, a really good second quarter and stunk in the third and was mediocre in the fourth.”

With four assists Thursday, Hornets’ guard Raheem Phillips reached a big milestone. Moore said Phillips has now accumulated exactly 1,000 assists in his career.

“Phillips has done an outstanding job for us,” Moore said. “He gave me plenty of headaches coming in as a young guy. I’ve really seen him develop because he came in wanting to score and not really wanting to run the team. He bought into the role that he’s got to run the show and get everybody else involved.”

Dallas County overcame a sloppy start to take a 20-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. Phillips knocked in a three-pointer and somehow contorted his body to make a layup through traffic to end the first quarter.

Phillips scored 10 of his 12 points in the first quarter, with the other two coming on free throws in the final minutes.

Moorer put his mark on the game in the second quarter, as he erupted for 11 of his 29 points to lead Dallas County to a 36-25 lead.

“I think Jerrod was outstanding,” Moore said. “I thought Phillips did a really good job of getting him the ball in the right spots where he could catch and shoot.”

The Jaguars chipped away in the third, closing within seven early to help keep the Hornets within reach. Despite only scoring five points in the third, Dallas County managed to take a 41-31 lead into the final quarter.

Wilcox was down nine with 6:02 left when a technical foul was called on the Hornets for having six players on the court. Zackary Woods knocked down a jumper and Steven Hood Jr. hit two free throws to chip into the Hornets’ lead.

With the game on the line, Dallas County had multiple opportunities to put it out of reach, but Moorer and Phillips missed free throws on back-to-back possessions with 2:57 left. A tip-in by Wilcox shrunk the Dallas County lead to 48-45, the smallest it had been since midway through the first quarter.

Moore said the Hornets missed 21 layups or close range shots in the game. Dallas County also missed 16 free throws, which allowed the game to stay close.

Despite all of the points they left on the board, the Hornets found their composure in time to extend a home winning streak that dates back to the 2012-2013 season. Wilcox played a role too, as the Jaguars turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions after getting within three.

Moorer and Kareem Ross made free throws in the final minute to close out the win.

For the first time all year, Dallas County had four of its five starters from last year’s state championship team in the lineup.

Center Lowell Furlow started after missing the first half of the season with a knee injury that he suffered during football season.

Dallas County will return to action Tuesday at Demopolis.