Birmingham Starts Fast in 77-56 Victory

Led by Keith Owens’ 24 points and 11 rebounds, the Birmingham High basketball team played nearly flawlessly Tuesday, defeating Venice, 77-56, in a nonleague game at Birmingham.

Birmingham (6-1) started fast and led, 16-2, after one quarter and, 43-22, at halftime. Owens’ 17 points led all scorers at intermission.

“We didn’t let anybody penetrate,” Birmingham Coach Jeff Halpern said. “We played good ball in the first half and we were a bit sloppy in the second.”

Indeed, both teams scored the same amount of points in the final two quarters, but by that time the game was essentially over.

The only other Brave to score in double figures was forward Ennerea Maxwell, who had 16 and added 19 rebounds.

Oliver Lang of Venice had 25 points, 15 in the second half.

The closest Venice (2-4) came was 61-44 when Jose Nevarez scored on a layup with a little more than five minutes left in the game.

With six minutes left in the third quarter, the Braves were ahead, 45-28, while using a strong inside game. Birmingham extended its lead to 59-36 with 30 seconds left in the period.