After surviving a close 56-55 victory on Wednesday against Chatsworth on their home court, Cleveland Cavaliers took the floor as visitors Friday night for their fourth game in less than a week. Ranked #1 in the L.A. City Section, the Cavaliers faced their toughest challenge on the road against their league rivals in the #2 ranked Birmingham Patriots. In a highly competitive battle between West Valley League foes, Cleveland held a small halftime lead before Cavaliers sophomore guard Charlie Adams poured in 12 of his 20 points in the third quarter to lead his team to a statement 81-70 victory with important playoff seeding implications. 

The Cavaliers faced a tough task on the defensive side of the ball heading into Friday night, facing Birmingham juniors Tekeio Phillips and X’zavion McKay. The Patriots caught fire offensively from the opening tip, as junior Christian Graham knocked down a 3-ball on the opening possession for Birmingham. Sparked by their full court press on the defensive end, McKay and the Patriots jumped out to an early 14-9 advantage with 2:55 left in the first quarter. 

Following a timeout, Cleveland head coach Dagem Asfaw implored his team to stick to his game plan of limiting their turnovers and Birmingham’s transition offense. The Cavaliers tightened up on defensive end sparked by junior guard and team captain T.J. Wansa, who also added 5 points on the offensive end as a part of an 11-2 Cleveland run including a backbreaking 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left to give them a 20-16 lead to end the first quarter. 

McKay, who came into Friday night ranked 10th in the CIF L.A. City Section in rebounding and 8th in double-doubles, provided a spark for Birmingham with his activity on the glass in the second quarter. The second chance opportunities led to the Patriots getting to the free throw line as they erased the Cleveland lead. Phillips, the 6th leading scorer in the city added 7 of his 22 points in the second quarter as Birmingham took a six-point lead. 

Cleveland slowed the tempo of the game down on both ends of the court and attacked the rim in the half court setting. Birmingham started to become sloppy with the basketball late in the half, as Cleveland went on an 11-1 run to regain the lead. The Cavaliers held a 37-35 lead as both teams went into the locker room to regroup. 

After making plays for his Cavaliers teammates throughout the first half, Adams looked for his own offense in the second half by relentlessly attacking the paint and finishing his layups at the rim. His twelve points in the third quarter were a part of a 14-5 run. 

Adams credited the film study from the coaching staff in exploiting Birmingham’s defense. “When we watch[ed] film, we[‘ve] seen that they don’t really guard the paint that well, because they’re too worried about trying to get steals and stuff.” 

McKay kept the Patriots in the contest on the offensive end, as he scored 11 of his 25 points in the third quarter. Cavaliers held a 59-50 lead heading into the fourth quarter. Birmingham remained within striking distance throughout the fourth quarter, but only trimmed the deficit to within five points. Adams and Wansa continued to exploit the two-man game with senior center Sergine Deme as a lob threat with three dunks in the fourth quarter. Deme finished the contest with 18 points, while Wansa had 17 points of his own in a balanced offensive effort from the Cavaliers. 

Asfaw elaborated in the postgame interview about how the tough schedule the Cavaliers played this season prepared them for Friday night’s victory. “To be honest with you, this is our biggest win of the season,” he stated, “we’ve been battling all year. We’ve played one of the toughest schedules, if not THE toughest schedule. Being at big games against Sierra Canyon, Crean Lutheran, Crespi helped us for moments like this today.” Deme also stated in the postgame interview that Cleveland can beat any of the elite teams in the CIF L.A. City Section after knocking off Birmingham, “It’s them and Palisades. We just took one down…Palisades is next.” 

The Patriots and Cavaliers will face off again next Wednesday, February 4th at 5:00 p.m. in the penultimate game of the season for both teams. Cleveland will travel to Chatsworth next Monday in the return match of their tightest league contest so far, also with a 5:00 p.m. start.