Homewood advances to Steel City final

Homewood advanced to the championship game of the Steel City Invitational with a 66-54 win over Sacred Heart on Monday night at the Pete Hanna Center.

The Patriots outscored Sacred Heart, the top-ranked team in Class 1A and fresh off a defeat of Mountain Brook, 16-8 in the third quarter and held onto that lead to take the 12-point win.

Sacred Heart struggled mightily from the field in the game, shooting just 30% compared to Homewood's 49% performance. 

The production was spread out for the Patriots, as four players scored in double figures, led by Luke Touiliatos with 16 points. Trey Jemison was right behind him with 15 points of his own. Austin Patterson (11 points) and Chris Miller (ten points) also produced double digits.

Touiliatos and Jemison narrowly missed double-doubles, with nine and eight rebounds, respectively. Miller chipped in seven boards as well.

Homewood used an advantage inside to outscore the Cardinals 32-12 in the paint. The Patriots showed off their depth as well, resulting in a 19-3 bench scoring edge. 

The Cardinals have already registered wins against Spain Park and Mountain Brook, the top two teams in Class 7A.

The championship game of the tournament takes place Tuesday at 8 p.m., as Homewood will take on J.O. Johnson.