Hamilton Christian has played the bulk of its games on the road this high school basketball season, and that is the way they like it.

While they will make the short trip to Burton Coliseum today for the boys basketball state tournament, they hope it plays more like a road game.

No. 6 Hamilton meets No. 2 St. Martin’s Episcopal in the select Division IV semifinals at 4:30 p.m.

The Warriors have won 13 of their last 14 games with a perfect 8-0 record on the road, including an upset of No. 3 Southern Lab in the quarterfinals a week ago. The Warriors have played 17 of their 26 games on the road.

“I always felt like we can play better on the road because most of our schedule this year was on the road,” Hamilton head coach Dexter Washington said. “We didn’t feel any tension going into Southern Lab. We left that morning got out there, went to the gym and had a great shoot around at 11, then rested our bodies.

“We had a good following. Our kids don’t get intimidated about playing on the road. We are better off on the road than the distractions that we get at home. On the road, there is nothing but us and them.”

The Warriors’ lone loss in the last 60 days was to nonselect Division II No. 1 Iowa at the Westgate tournament on Jan. 6 by five points.

“What it is is that we are getting better at what we have been doing,” Washington said. “The kids are really buying into defense.

“Early on I think our kids thought they were headed for the NBA, the 3-point contest and looking to see if they were going to be the leading scorer in the country. None of that materialized, and they finally bought in. I think it was when we went to the Westgate tournament. And I give my good friend (Rob Melanson) credit because I think the game we played against Iowa was the game that helped us turn the corner and understand how to play basketball.”

That defense stopped Southern Lab’s inside game last week, led by 6-foot-11 sophomore center D’nharayane Vital (9 points, 12 rebounds, 7 blocks) and will switch to the Saints, who topped the Warriors in the quarterfinals last season 65-54.

“We just can’t allow them to control the tempo of the game,” Washington said. “We can’t allow them to be comfortable at running anything they want to run.

“I am interested in what they are going to do. Of course, they have looked at film of us as well. So they like to attack the rim, but we are not going to allow them to attack the rim. We are going to force them to do some things that I didn’t see them do. They have some kids that can shoot, but remember, you are going to Burton Coliseum and not the gym you are playing in all the time. You have to be able to adjust in the arena as well.”

The other key factor that Washington said he is looking at is the Warriors’ play off the bench, especially juniors Destin Love and Shawn Weston.

“I think the key for us is what we get from the bench,” Washington said. “Shawn Weston and Destin Love have done a tremendous job.

“Destin has done that for us this year. Early on he didn’t understand. Yesterday I was telling him, ‘Now you understand why?’ He plays a lot of minutes coming off that bench and is a great defensive player.

“Having Shawn back in the mix really helped out quite a bit because he is a veteran at Hamilton. He made some really big buckets in the Southern Lab game.”

Hamilton is playing in the semifinals for the sixth time since 2017 and is looking for its first trip to the final since 2019.

St. Martin’s lost in the semifinals last season to eventual state champion Northwood-Lena.