Patriots fall to Pelham on last-second free throw
Pelham High School 6-foot-9 forward Alex Reese sunk a free throw with 1.3 seconds left in overtime to lift his team to a 64-63 victory over Homewood in the second round of the Steel City Invitational on Tuesday night at Samford University’s Pete Hanna Center.
Reese’s game-winning free throw was set up by a foul that was called on Patriots center Trey Jemison. Jemison went up to collect a rebound following a missed 3-point attempt from Luke Touliatos, but the refs penalized Jemison for pushing off on Reese.
“It was really frustrating for our kids because they fought really hard,” Homewood head coach Tim Shepler said. “Pelham made a run back; we got a lead, and we felt like we did everything we could to deserve to win and it just didn’t happen.”
The free throw proved an anticlimactic ending to what had been an energy-infused, back-and-forth affair.
Pelham (12-1) led 13-10 through one quarter, but Homewood (7-4) rallied back to gain a 30-24 edge at halftime. The Patriots shot 52 percent from the field and 57 percent from beyond the arc in the first half.
Homewood widened its lead to 43-27 midway through the third quarter. Then, the comeback was on.
Behind Reese and Justin Allison, the Panthers erased Homewood’s advantage. Pelham took a 54-51 lead with less than a minute to play in the fourth quarter.
Enter Touliatos.
After bouncing off a screen, the Patriots’ senior guard knocked down a 3 from NBA range with about 10 ticks remaining.
The shot tied the game at 54-54 and sent it into overtime.
“I got an open look, and I knocked it down,” Touliatos said. “We were just looking for some type of open 3.”
Touliatos converted another a deep 3 to start the overtime period. He followed it up with a baseline layup, giving his team a 59-54 edge. Touliatos tallied 25 points on the night.
“He was really good tonight. He’s learning to trust his teammates, and he did tonight for the most part. Good things happen for him.”
But once again, Pelham refused to wilt. Reese scored all 10 of Pelham’s overtime points, capped by his free throw.
Reese finished with 25 points. Allison finished with 18.
Jemison and Logan Padgett chipped in 10 apiece for the Patriots.
With the loss, Homewood moves into the loser’s bracket. The Patriots will play Vestavia Hills on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. Pelham will face Mountain Brook in the semifinals.
“You don’t win the state championship at Steel City. You win at the end of the year, so you just keep playing,” Touliatos said. “but it’s tough to lose this one.”