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GREENSBORO -- Julius Brooks is getting one of his Christmas wishes a little late -- another shot at Greensboro Day.

Brooks and the Pirates, who have lost to the Bengals three times the last three years, will face them in today's Pizza Hut Invitational semifinal after pounding Grimsley 71-54 in round one Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum Special Events Center.

The three-time defending champion Bengals advanced with a 64-41 win over Smith. Page hasn't made the finals since 1990.

"I can't wait," said Brooks, who scored a game-high 18 points. "It's going to be different this time." Brooks, a springy 6-foot-9 center, set the tone on Page's first possession with an alley-oop dunk that snapped the crowd to attention. He added three more dunks in the half and had two of Page's eight blocks, a major reason nobody other than Grimsley anchor Keith Manley was able to find room in the paint.

"I think we might have gotten a little scared," said Manley, who finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds after an 0-for-5 first half. "We were too passive tonight."

Page, which handed Grimsley its only conference loss last season in the Metro 4-A Conference title game, has now won four in a row after a three-game skid in mid-December. Brooks has been a big reason why.

"He's getting more aggressive, scoring more, running the floor more," said head coach Robert Kent, whose team will meet the Whirlies again Jan. 16. "He's really coming along."

A Krechaun Williams 3-pointer just before the first-quarter buzzer pulled Grimsley to within one, but Page took no time regaining control. Mitchell Oates hit a 3 to make it 18-14, AJ Finney followed with another triple and Oates connected again from deep to help Page open a 10-point lead in the span of a minute. The Pirates outscored the Whirlies 20-6 in the second, including an 11-0 run to end the half.

"We started to play as a team," said Oates, who had 16 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

Grimsley had only lost once coming into the game but was facing its first 4-A opponent. The Whirlies put up little resistance as the Pirates raced to a 17-3 edge in fast break points and swarmed the ball at every opportunity. Manley said he could tell in warmups that his team might be flat.

"They played harder than us," Manley said, "and we didn't know how to react to it."

It all came to a dizzying conclusion in the final minutes when Oates hit Jordan Weethee for an alley-oop dunk and Chris Knight flushed home an even more emphatic slam seconds later. Then, to smiles on the Page bench, the Pirates student section launched into the most painful four-syllable chant any cross-town rival can hear: "Just like football."

Contact Tom Keller at 373-7034 or tom.keller@news-record.com

Grimsley (10-2) -- Keith Manley 16; Krechaun Williams 15; Max Miller 11; Carter Gourley 7; Lee Sweeney 2; Lashawn Brown 2; Aaron Wise 1.

Page (8-3) -- Julius Brooks 18; Mitchell Oates 16; AJ Finney 13; Jordan Weethee 9; Stacey Greene 5; Chris Knight 4; De'mone Harrison 3; Jonathan Spain 3.