Prep Sports

JACKSONVILLE — Gadsden City missed shot after shot in the first quarter.

The Titans missed 3-pointers.

They missed jumpers.

They even missed layups and free throws.

At the end of the eight-minute drought, what was left was a hole that Gadsden City just never could completely dig itself out of. Homewood took its first-quarter lead and held on for dear life for 24 more minutes to earn a 73-65 win the Class 6A Northeast Regional final.

Homewood advances to the Birmingham's Final Four where it will take on Sidney Lanier on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Gadsden City scored just twice in the first quarter — a shot in the paint by Jerrell Harris midway through the quarter and then a layup by Franklin Howze with 38 seconds left. During that time, Homewood raced out to a 21-4 lead en route to its 30th win of the season.

Gadsden City escaped its funk in the second quarter, opening the period with a 14-3 run that got the deficit down to two shots, 24-18 at the 3:56 mark, but Homewood managed to keep the Titans (21-9) just far enough away for them to be dangerous for the remainder of the half.

The Titans continued to peck away at the lead, even cutting it to one point on a dunk by Harris with 4:28 remaining. But just as the Patriots did all game, they answered every Gadsden City rally, tit for tat.

Four seconds after Harris’ dunk, Derrick Rudolph fouled Patriot Ronald Nored sending him to the free-throw line where he sank both shots to put the lead back at three.

On the next Titan possession, Homewood’s Jacobi Robertson blocked the shot of Harris, Nored scooped up the deflection and took it on a fastbreak to up the lead to five, 58-53. Not 30 seconds later, Homewood’s Alan Brandt drained a 3-pointer giving Homewood full control that it would not relinquish.

Gadsden City's Howze finished with 21 points to lead all scorers, and Harris added 18.

Nored led the Patriots with 19 points and 13 boards. Jo Moore chipped 16 points, Ben Forsyth 12 and Brandt 11. Forsyth, who came off the bench and played on 15 minutes, and Moore each hit four 3-pointers for the Patriots, who shot 55 percent from behind the 3-point arc. Brandt added three treys.