Photo by David Leong.
Homewood Patriot fans react during the boys Class 6A Northeast Regional final game between Homewood and Oxford on Feb. 25, at Jacksonville State University
Homewood Patriot fans react during the boys Class 6A Northeast Regional final game between Homewood and Oxford on Feb. 25, at Jacksonville State University.
The Homewood High School boys basketball team ran into the top-ranked team in Class 6A and fell short in the Northeast Regional final to No. 1 Oxford at Jacksonville State University.
Oxford went on to win its first basketball state title, cementing its legacy as the best team in 6A for the 2025-26 season.
The 55-22 loss ended what was a tremendous season for Homewood in Elijah Garrison’s second year as head coach. Homewood finished with a 25-8 record, losing only twice in its last 20 games. The Patriots won the area in the regular season, along with the area tournament, and won a sub-regional game against Shades Valley and a regional game against Mountain Brook to get to the final eight.
“We win 13 games in a row, win an area tournament, get to the regional final,” Garrison said. “It sucks that that’s how it ends, but I’m super proud of them. They’re a special group of young men.”
Homewood was unable to get anything going in that game, but the Patriots’ win over Mountain Brook in the opening round of the regional tournament was a special one.
Homewood had been eliminated at the hands of the Spartans each of the last two years, and the Patriots returned the favor this time around.
Photo by David Leong.
Homewood head coach Elijah Garrison
Homewood head coach Elijah Garrison coaches from the sideline.
The Patriots defense locked down the Spartans much of the game, allowing nine or fewer points over the second, third and fourth quarters.
“That’s a quality opponent that we just played, and I have all the respect for Coach [Tyler] Davis and what he has done and is doing at Mountain Brook,” Garrison said following that game. “Everybody knows the success that they have had, and so that’s a good win for us. We didn’t come in here thinking that we were the underdogs, though. We thought we could play in that game.”
Kaleb Carson led all scorers with 19 points in the contest, adding four assists and four rebounds to his line as well. Jace Harden had a standout game, going for a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Oxford never allowed Carson to get rolling, though.
“He’s a special kid,” Garrison said of Carson, who led Homewood to special seasons on the football field and basketball court this year. “He’s grown up a lot and really matured. He’s a very unselfish kid and wants what’s best for his friends and teammates. I saw him grow up a lot in the last year.”
Carson and his teammates echoed each other, saying last season’s loss to Mountain Brook in the sub-regional round fueled the Patriots to put together a special season.
“It’s not every day you get to play this game with your best friends for the last three months,” senior Hayes DeCoudres said. “When you’re hanging out with people you love and playing a game you love, you get close.”
