Kizzee’s Free Throws Sink Cleveland, 46-45

VAN NUYS — The Birmingham High boys’ basketball team went without a field goal in the fourth quarter, blew a nine-point lead and converted only seven of 15 free throws down the stretch in one of its biggest games of the season.

But don’t jump to conclusions because that’s only part of the story.

Raymond Kizzee sank two free throws with seven seconds left and the Braves held on to upset Cleveland, 46-45, in a Northwest Valley Conference game at Birmingham on Friday.

It is the first conference loss for Cleveland (15-4, 3-1), ranked No. 4 by The Times in the region and considered a contender for the City 4-A title.

Birmingham (13-6, 3-1), a 3-A team with a deliberate offense whose only conference loss came against 4-A Taft at the buzzer, has sent a message with the victory.

“This is a great victory for us,” said Coach Al Bennett, who ran onto the court after the buzzer to celebrate with his team.

Cleveland trailed by as many as 11 points in the third quarter but stormed back in the fourth. The Cavaliers went on a 14-3 run to start the quarter for a 44-42 lead with 3:42 remaining.

Birmingham, which made 11 of 25 (44%) free throws, missed several opportunities to tie the score or take the lead down the stretch.

The Braves trailed, 45-44, with 11 seconds remaining when Sime Skoblar missed a 12-foot jumper off an inbound pass. Kizzee grabbed the rebound and was fouled with seven seconds left.

After Kizzee’s heroics, Cleveland’s Daniel Yang missed a three-point attempt but a Birmingham player knocked the ball out of bounds under the basket.

With one second on the clock, Birmingham’s Stanley Fletcher tipped Jerome Grant’s inbound pass and the ball hit the back side of the backboard.

Kizzee led all scorers with 17 points, Fletcher had 11 and Fahim Hassankhail added 10. Donald Holt had 13 for Cleveland.