VIDEO: Patriots bring home blue trophy
Saturday, March 5, 2016, will be remembered as the day the boys basketball program at Homewood High School brought home its first blue trophy, as Class 6A state champions.
The Patriots knocked off Muscle Shoals, 54-51, in the State Final behind 13 straight points to begin the game and the resilience to hang on in the end.
“It’s what you hope for, but I didn’t really think it would be 13-0 coming out. We told our kids in the huddle, this team doesn’t go away,” Homewood head coach Tim Shepler said.
Muscle Shoals was able to chip away at that lead the rest of the way after falling behind 18-5 following the first quarter.
“I’m glad we got off to a good start because that team just would never say die,” Shepler said. “They competed and they fought hard.”
The lead was down to ten at the half. A strong third quarter pulled them even closer. Mark Sears’ three-pointer at the end of the quarter rattled out and back in to shrink Homewood’s lead to just 42-40.
Homewood (31-5) managed to hang onto that lead the rest of the way. Luke Touliatos drained a three from the corner to open the scoring in the final period. Austin Patterson and Ronald Claiborne supplied the only other Patriot field goals in the fourth.
Calvin Bak’s three with 1:12 to play cut the lead to a single point, but free throws from Patterson and Peyton Brown sealed the outcome.
“I’ve got to give it to our guys, because we fought,” Shepler said. “We knew they were coming at us, but we continued to fight and grind and find ways, and that’s what they’ve done.”
Concluding the season with a win is a new feeling for the Patriots, whether it’s the coaching staff or the players.
“It feels special. I’ve started 26 seasons and every one of them has ended with a loss. It’s kind of different to end with a win, and kind of storybook and all,” Shepler said, who reached the State Final in 2008 and 2010 previously, but had to yet to win it.
Patterson led the Patriots with 15 points and chipped in four rebounds, three steals, and three assists. Touliatos scored 13 and pulled in six rebounds.
The Patriots reached the Final Four a season ago, but came up short in the State Semifinals. This year, the objective was to get further.
“It feels great to end the season with a win,” Touliatos said, who was named tournament MVP. “That was the goal, to win state. We were experienced and we came here and kind of knew what to expect and that helped us a lot.”
Shepler said Homewood’s triumph in the Steel City Invitational in December gave the team the confidence needed to reach the title, as they knocked off Class 1A Sacred Heart, 3A Madison Academy, and 5A J.O. Johnson, three teams that all made it to the State Finals.
Nine seniors will exit the Homewood program on a high. Patterson, Derrick Underwood, Claiborne, Joe Kennedy, Jake Burdeshaw, Will Mizerany, Brown, and Chris Miller will go down as a special group.
“They’ve been fighters their whole season, and what a great way to cap it off,” Shepler said.
Claiborne, who scored eight in the game, including a three on which he was fouled, said, “This group of seniors, we’ve been playing together since 6th grade. We’ve developed team chemistry and we’re like brothers. Whenever we’re together, it’s really fun.”
Muscle Shoals (21-11) defeated Carver-Montgomery on a buzzer-beater to reach the final game, and first-year head coach Neal Barker said his team felt like Hickory from the movie Hoosiers, with the way the Trojans made an unexpected postseason run.
“I’m really proud of these guys. Two to three weeks ago, nobody gave us a chance to be here, much less to be one possession from the state championship. Congratulations to Homewood, but I’m happy,” Barker said.
The Trojans put three players in double digits, with Braxton Winston scoring 16, Bak 14, and Sears 12.