CITY BASKETBALL 3-A PLAYOFFS : Birmingham Gets Past University With Late Second-Half Run, 56-48

Somebody better tell Birmingham that the playoffs have started.

In the second half of Wednesday night’s quarterfinal game the Braves--seeded first in City 3-A--found themselves losing to University, a team they beat by 22 earlier this year.

Faced with this challenge, Birmingham promptly went scoreless for five minutes and gave the ball away six times.

The Braves can count themselves just lucky--and talented--enough to still be in the playoffs. They answered their coach’s wake-up call late in the third quarter, began pounding the boards then scored 20 fourth-quarter points to win going away, 56-48.

Friday night, the Braves will play in their first semifinal since 1961. To get there they have had to extend themselves against two lesser teams. That isn’t how a 21-2 team is supposed to do it. And they’re going to have to be awake to have a chance Friday against Los Angeles, a 65-45 winner over Grant.

“It took us well into the third quarter to realize what was going on out there,” said Birmingham Coach Jeff Halpern. “Otherwise the season was over.”

Reserve guard Jason Moore may have been the difference. Twice he came in to rally the Braves.

“The bench had to stay in the game,” said Moore, who had 13 points. “That’s our job.”

University (11-11) played without 6-6 center Greg Spector, ill with chicken pox, but responded with perhaps its most inspired game of the year.

Outmanned on the baseline, the Warriors came out hitting a string of 18-foot jump shots to lead 28-24 at the half.

That lead swelled to nine before the Braves finally got going to cut the University lead to one point by the end of the third quarter.

In the fourth quarter, Ennerea Maxwell, 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Keith Owens, 14 rebounds, took over.