VIDEO: Austin Patterson plays hero; Patriots head to Final Four
Austin Patterson drove hard to the basket, and the whistle blew. With 3.6 seconds left, he stepped to free throw line, his team down a single point.
The first one: good.
The second one: even better.
Bessemer City’s shot went begging at the final horn, and Homewood pulled off a late comeback to win, 56-55, in the Class 6A Central Regional Final on Wednesday, at the Dunn-Oliver Acadome on the campus of Alabama State University.
“It was a lot of pressure,” Patterson said of the final two shots. “After I made the first one and the second one came up, I said I have to make this one. So I just composed myself and made it.”
Homewood (27-5) outscored the Purple Tigers 9-2 in the final 4:42, after what looked to be a devastating sequence of events for the Patriots.
Luke Touliatos committed a foul and subsequently picked up a technical, and Bessemer City’s Micah Fuller sank four consecutive free throws, as his team opened up a 53-47 advantage.
The Patriots would not be denied, even as Bessemer City went into clock-melting mode. Ronald Claiborne put back a Touliatos miss to pull Homewood within two. After a pair of made free throws from Johnathan Coleman, Homewood’s Trey Jemison knocked in two of his own to make it 55-53 with 1:53 remaining.
The Purple Tigers had chances to ice the game, but missed their final three free throw attempts, setting up the final shots from Patterson.
“Being down six to this good a team late is really tough,” Homewood head coach Tim Shepler said. “We just kind of chipped away and found a way to do it.”
Touliatos overcame a rough stretch of play in the fourth quarter and five turnovers in the game to still pour in a game-high 22 points and earn Regional MVP honors.
“It means a lot,” he said. “It’s really a team award. I couldn’t do it without my teammates. It’s just one of my roles to score, so I try to be aggressive throughout the game.”
Touliatos started the game strong, with a pair of drives to the hoop, as the Patriots jumped out to an 8-2 lead. The sharpshooter scored 14 in the first quarter alone, as Homewood held a 22-14 lead after a quarter of play.
Coleman’s three-point shooting kept the Purple Tigers in the game in the first half, as Bessemer City outscored Homewood 18-9 in the second quarter, and took a one-point edge into the locker room.
Homewood will return to the Final Four once again, where they fell in the State Semifinals to Lee-Huntsville a year ago.
“It’s exciting to go back-to-back, especially for these guys, being a predominantly senior team,” Shepler said. “They’ve just fought so hard, and had every chance today to give in. Bessemer City is a really good team, but our kids just refused to give in and just found a way.”
The 24-hour rule will be in effect for the Patriots, as they plan to enjoy the triumph for a short time, and then get ready for the next step.
“We’re excited to be there, and we’re going to enjoy this for a day. Then we’re going to start thinking towards Birmingham,” said Shepler.
Patterson’s heroics had him finish the game with 12 points and four assists. Trey Jemison missed a double-double by a single point and rebound, scoring nine and pulling down five boards.
“It’s been rough,” Jemison said of the path his team has taken this season. “We’ve fought back and forth in practice. We’ve worked hard. It’s been a long journey, but I’m proud with this team right now.”
Jemison was also named to the All-Region team, along with Touliatos.
Bessemer City placed four players in double figures. Coleman led the team with 13 points. De’Ederick Petty and Carlos Petty each scored 12, with Petty grabbing ten rebounds as well. Fuller scored ten.
Homewood is slated to play the winner of the Center Point and Huffman matchup at the BJCC, Wednesday, March 2, at 1:30 p.m.