All Saint's Ashton Frances (2) hits a three pointer against Whitehouse in a game played earlier this season. ( Lang White / Correspondent )

On an out-of-town trip to Austin in late November, the All Saints boys basketball team set out a series of goals for the season.

Expectations were high with the Trojans coming off a trip to the final four and the team’s aspirations reflected that.

But one by one All Saints has ticked off those goals:

Go undefeated at home — the Trojans went 14-0 at Brookshire Gym.

Win district — they beat Dallas Christian 72-57 in TAPPS 2-4A title game.

Go undefeated in district — only Bullard Brook Hill came within 10 points in league play.

Advance to state — All Saints beat Midland Christian 93-79 and Arlington Pantego 68-53 in the playoffs.

Win state — To be determined.

“They’ve accomplished everything they’ve wanted to except winning the state championship,” All Saints coach Eddie Francis said. “So that’s the one goal out there that they still have a chance to achieve.”

The Trojans get their chance Friday in the TAPPS 4A state semifinals against Lubbock Trinity Christian. Tipoff is 7:30 p.m. at Mansfield Legacy High School.

The winner gets either Houston Westbury Christian (32-7) or Austin St. Dominic Savio (23-9), who play at 9 p.m. Friday. The championship game is set for 7 p.m. Saturday, also at Legacy HS.

All Saints has already had a record-setting year. The Trojans (36-2) own the most wins in school history, breaking the record they set last year, and won three tournaments.

Not that the team is done checking off its goals, not with the biggest prize two games away, not after everything this team has been through.

Much of All Saints’ core is built around a group of players who have been together since elementary school.

The five seniors — Matt Brunson, Clayton Smith, Spencer Ball, Jaired Maddox and coach’s son Aston Francis — along with junior Luke Lee have played more basketball together than John Stockton and Karl Malone.

“We’re best friends on and off the court,” Ball said. “Off the court obviously we like to have fun. We enjoy ourselves, especially in the locker room and stuff.

“As soon as we get on the court it’s business.”

That chemistry lends itself to the Trojans and their fast-paced style of play as the players always know where to find their teammates.

“It’s very comforting knowing that we all are so familiar with each other and know what each other is going to do,” Aston Francis said.

The result is a highly efficient team on both offense and defense.

Aston Francis leads the team with 22.1 points and Maddox adds 16.7. But seven players average more than five points per game and all are capable of going off for 20 on any given night, a fact Eddie Francis said is unique, especially at the private school level.

The balance is what Maddox said makes this team different from last season. Every game someone new steps up, whether it’s Ball scoring 15 of his 24 in the third quarter against Midland Christian or 6-1 junior Chris Williams coming off the bench to guard Pantego’s 7-foot center Rickey Brice.

“We’re a complete team,” Maddox said. “You look at the box score, everybody is scoring double figures. That’s the difference between last year is everybody contributes.”

In addition to balance, the team is deeper than it has been before. Sophomore Sean Phillips is averaging 9.2 points off the bench, up nearly four points from last year. And, critically, Ball is back.

In the first game of last season, Ball tore his right ACL. It took him seven months to get back on the court, but his return as point guard has been vital to the Trojans.

“It just brings another player depth and another aspect to our game because he’s so fast and can push the ball up the court which just benefits to our advantage,” Brunson said.

Not that All Saints is fully healthy. Aston Francis missed the final two games of the regular season with a stress fracture in his left foot. Though the fracture has grown, Francis was told he could continue to play if he could stand the pain and doctors would repair the damage after the season.

While he’s a tad slower and not getting as much lift on his jumper, Aston Francis has still been a valued member of the team, especially with his ability to stretch defenses. He’s averaged 13 points in four games with the broken foot.

“It’s definitely frustrating but I can’t do anything about it, it happened,” Aston Francis said. “The best I can do is play through it and hope my teammates help me out.”

To the Trojans’ credit, they didn’t miss a beat without the 22.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.9 assists and 3.0 steals per game that Aston Francis brought, winning the two games he missed by a combined 122 points.

That was simply keeping in line with what All Saints has done all year.

“If someone’s doing bad or in foul trouble it’s not like we’re missing a beat,” Brunson said. “It’s the next person that’s up and even with Aston out we still got our average number of points.”

One thing that’s different for this year’s Trojans is its seed. All Saints was a No. 4 seed for its only two previous trips to the Final Four, last year included. This year they entered the playoffs as a No. 1 seed for winning district.

While the underdog role still suits some of the players, it’s not something they’re too caught up in.

“We don’t really pay that much attention if we’re the ones being chased after or if we’re the underdog, we just go out there and play how we’ve been taught,” Smith said.

That’s not to say they might not feel like underdogs at the final four, where they could face two state powers that are accustomed to being in this position.

Against Lubbock Trinity, All Saints faces a team that has a state championship, five state title game appearances and two more final fours under its belt in the last 16 years.

The Lions (26-10) are similar to the Trojans in style, pushing the tempo with a fast-paced offense and full-court defense.

That said, Lubbock Trinity is considered a favorite in some circles.

“Everyone at the regional tournament was saying how similar Lubbock and us play, but they’re just better,” Eddie Francis said. “That will be hopefully some motivation for these kids.”

Should All Saints get to the final, Westbury Christian would likely be waiting. The Wildcats are the two-time defending state champions. What’s more, they’ve won 18 state titles in the last 24 years, reaching the final four every time.

But the Trojans don’t plan on letting this final weekend end anytime soon.

“All the seniors know that this weekend is the last weekend that we’re going to be playing together and we’ve been playing together since first grade,” Smith said.

Brunson said this culmination of their high school careers will be bittersweet. Maddox admitted there’s some anxiousness. Ball said it just adds to the excitement.

Francis said the team is confident.

“To make it to the final and have a shot to win would be an awesome feeling, making history again,” Aston Francis said. “It’s something we’ve done a lot of the past two years — that’s what we’re really hoping to do.

“We’re hoping to get a winning attitude in All Saints basketball. This is the last step to do that before a lot of us leave.”

One more goal to check off.