Cleveland Rebounds in Big Way, 73-64

Brian Smith knew a relentless rebounding mentality would be his key to playing time for the Cleveland High boys’ basketball team.

In a Northwest Valley Conference game against Birmingham on Wednesday, Smith’s pursuit of stray shots earned more than playing time; it helped the Cavaliers to a 73-64 victory at Cleveland.

Smith finished with 17 rebounds and 18 points, many of them coming off offensive rebounds as Cleveland (12-6, 2-1) rallied from an eight-point deficit two minutes into the third quarter.

“I didn’t get a chance to play a whole lot last year,” said Smith, a 6-foot-5 junior forward. “I want playing time, so I have to get rebounds.”

All the Cavaliers adopted Smith’s philosophy in the second half. Cleveland finished with a 45-26 rebounding edge over Birmingham, including a 17-3 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Smith’s brother, Simmagin, finished with 11 rebounds and Rashaad Harper, playing only the second half, had five and all seven of his points in the fourth quarter.

“Rebounding was the difference,” Birmingham Coach Al Bennett said. “Our biggest problem all season has been defensive rebounds.”

Cleveland had four offensive putbacks in the fourth quarter alone. Two of them--by Brian Smith and Harper--helped key a 7-0 run that broke a 50-50 tie and gave Cleveland the lead for good.

“We just told them to crash the boards in the second half. We didn’t have anybody back except the point guard,” Cleveland Coach Andre Chevalier said. “And Rashaad was our X factor.”

It helped that the Cavaliers weren’t called for a foul in the second half until there was less than four minutes left in the game, allowing the constant press for rebounds.

The Braves mostly used a zone defense--which freed up guard Kent Dennis, who had been double-teamed in recent games. Dennis scored 12 of his 30 points in the third quarter and finished with four three-pointers. He also had eight assists.

“It was nice to see,” Dennis said. “I was getting tired of all the double-teaming.”

After falling behind early, the Braves played their best in the second quarter, dictating the pace by slowing down. Birmingham often stalled 15 seconds before setting up a play that usually ended with Alex Salas or Emmanuel Evans open.

Salas scored nine of his 21 points and Evans eight of his 16 in the second quarter. The Braves went on a 12-0 run midway through the quarter to take a 28-24 lead before the Cavaliers rallied with a basket and a three-pointer by Dennis.