The Birmingham Patriots were on a four-game winning streak heading into Friday night’s regular season finale on the road against El Camino Real. After getting revenge in a 74-66 road win over the top-ranked Cleveland Cavaliers, the Patriots looked to avenge a 66-52 loss on their home court against the Royals on January 26th. In a matchup of two top-10 teams in the CIF LA City Section, Birmingham settled in after an early 9-0 deficit by clawing their way to a five-point halftime lead before pulling away in the second half. The Patriots defense held the Royals to only 8 points in the third quarter while junior guard Takeio Phillips, the 7th leading scoring in the City Section, poured in 33 points in the 73-40 route to clinch second place in the West Valley League. 

Birmingham had to withstand an early onslaught from the three-point line from El Camino Real, as the game began with a 3-pointer from Royals freshman shooting guard Elijah Finley on their opening possession. El Camino drained two more triples from behind the arc to take an early 9-0 lead while the home crowd went into a frenzy. The Royals jumped out to a 13-2 advantage before the Patriots got back into the game through their activity on the glass. 

Birmingham junior wings Andrew Berry and Christian Graham earned second chance opportunities on the offensive glass, as the Patriots chipped away at the El Camino lead by attacking the basket while drawing fouls. Berry closed the first quarter with an acrobatic putback at the buzzer to tie the game at 17-17. Birmingham head coach Nicolas Halic credited Berry’s growth within his program after the win,  “He’s really starting to figure it out.” 

Both teams traded baskets throughout the second quarter, as the Patriots continued to use their physicality on the boards. Birmingham received a boost from junior forward Wizdom Burnes, who provided a jolt of energy for his Patriots team using his size to wreak havoc in the paint  on the glass. “That was Wizdom’s best game, from a physical standpoint.”, Halic proclaimed in the postgame interview. 

On the defensive side of the ball, the Patriots cooled off the Royals through their active hands in the passing lanes forcing turnovers from El Camino Real. Birmingham took advantage of their miscues as they took a slim 31-26 halftime lead into the locker room. Both teams were active on the defensive end to begin the second half as the game remained scoreless in the first two minutes. 

Berry broke the scoring drought in the third quarter, while making a statement on the defensive end a few possessions later with an acrobatic block on Royals senior center Amari Anderson to force a shot-clock violation. The offensive woes for El Camino Real continued, as they were held scoreless for the first 4:18 of the third quarter from a suffocating Birmingham defensive attack. After getting his teammates involved in the first half, Phillips showed off his offensive repertoire by scoring 12 third quarter points. 

Birmingham took advantage of transition opportunities from their turnovers and continued to get to the free throw line throughout the period. An 11-2 run in the third quarter helped Birmingham extend the lead to 17 points heading into the fourth quarter. The Patriots refused to give ground on the defensive end in the final quarter, holding the Royals to only 6 points in the fourth quarter and only 14 points in the second half altogether. Phillips added 10 more points in the period to give him 33 points in the 73-40 blowout victory. 

After dropping the first game to El Camino on their home court, Halic credited the team’s focus in their approach heading into Friday night, “They came in here ready to play. There was no nonsense, no messing around. They had a chip on their shoulder and they did what they needed to do.” With the playoffs on the horizon, Halic understands the importance of Friday’s win as a message to the rest of the teams in the CIF Open Division Playoffs. 

Birmingham will take on Fairfax on their home court on Wednesday at 7:00 pm as the No. 3 seed in the CIF Open Division Playoffs. El Camino Real will take on the top seeded Palisades Dolphins on the road Wednesday night as the No. 8 seed in the CIF Open Division Playoffs.