Jack stood at the free throw line with sweat dripping down his face. He had played the entire thirty nine minutes of the game thus far and there was only a minute left. He needed to make both free throws to break the tie and give Davis a two point lead. Jack felt like he had been to the free throw line at least fifteen times during the game. As soon as he made his first four three point shots the Bulldogs started fouling him if he looked like he might shoot the ball. He hadn't even had a chance to shoot a three point shot the entire second half of the game, but he was on pace to score forty points in the game, most of those points coming at the free throw line.
The forty points though didn't matter to Jack. He wanted to win, he wanted to vindicate himself as a legitimate starter on the Davis team and he wanted to prove that Mr. Roderick had made the right choice by inserting him as a starter. His scoring has proven this, but his defense had not.
The Bulldogs ran a complicated offense that neutralized the Davis defense. It was clear that the Bulldogs targeted Jack as the weakest defender on the Davis team and consistently ran plays that took advantage of Jack's weakness. Davis's offense never really got going because the Bulldogs dictated the pace of the game and really slowed things down. Jack was the only bright spot because of his fearlessness in shooting the ball and willingness to get fouled.
Jack wiped his forehead with his hand and wiped his hand on his shorts. He caught the ball from the referee and stared down the orange rim and white net. He closed his eyes briefly and took a deep breath, opened his eyes, and shot the ball through the net. He repeated the same shot a second time and Davis held a two point lead.
The Bulldogs inbounded the ball and Mr. Roderick called in a trap play. Jack ran up on the player who caught the inbounds pass. Keevan shot over to help Jack, but was a second too late and the Bulldogs pushed the ball up the floor. They started swing passing the ball around the three point line when Jack finally crossed the half court line one of the Bulldogs let go of a three point shot and it bounced off the rim and backboard before finally finding its way through the net. The Bulldog home crowd erupted.
Mr. Roderick called in another play, but Jack couldn't hear what it was. Keevan quickly brought the ball up the court with thirty five seconds left on the clock. Davis needed a score. Jack was suddenly double teamed and couldn't get away from both defenders. Keevan looked at Ox who was wide open, but passed the ball down to Josiah who missed a mid-range jump shot. Jack was suddenly on fire. He felt something rage within and ran at the Bulldog player who rebounded the ball. Jack practically tackled the player and was immediately called for a foul. Ox somehow deflected Jack's attempted tackle and unexpectedly grabbed Jack with open hands on his face.
"You's ain't bout' to git kicked out dis game! Got it!"
Jack nodded his head in agreement and looked over at Mr. Roderick who looked like he was about to tell Jack to come out of the game. Jack walked up the court to see if the player he fouled would make his foul shots. The player missed the first shot, but made the second. The Bulldogs were up by two points with nineteen seconds to go. The crowd got loud again and Mr. Roderick called a timeout. He brought the team around him and looked at a bunch of exhausted and pessimistic faces. Then he got to Jack who was red in the face and full of fire.
"Do you have yourself under control Mr. Hampton?"
"I'm fine!"
"Don't yell around me!...Are you under control?"
"Yes sir."
"Good...now we just need one shot to tie this thing up...We need to set a pick for Jack and if he has an open three he can take it or he can get the ball into Josiah or Ox down low for a layup."
Jack tried to bite his tongue, but couldn't.
"Keevan should've passed to Ox on our last possession."
"That's enough Mr. Hampton!...Cisco!...You're in for Jack...now go make it happen!"
Jack could not believe that he was benched after working so hard all game and trying to stand up for his friend. He watched Cisco go into the game. Keevan was immediately double teamed on the inbound pass and dished the ball to Cisco. Cisco raced up the floor and let go a long lob pass to Ox who was being defended by the Bulldogs tallest player. Jack watched the clock wind down as Ox tried to get separation from the defender. The clock wound down to five seconds and was quickly approaching zero. With less than two seconds on the clock Ox fought through the defender and put up a shot. The ball bounced around the rim before it went through the hoop and the referee blew the whistle for a defensive foul as time expired. The crowd's cheering fell to a faint whimper.
Ox had a chance to sink a free throw and win the game for Davis. Jack was tenser than he had ever been. He knew Ox had a decent chance to sink the free throw, but he wasn't always consistent with his free throws. All the players except Ox were asked to go to their benches for the final shot. Keevan bumped Jack's shoulder as he came over to the bench and whispered something under his breath that Jack didn't comprehend. Jack ignored Keevan and focused his attention on Ox. Ox got the ball, bent his knees and let go of the free throw shot. The ball hit the front of the rim bounced in the air and dropped through the net. Davis had won!
Jack, David, Cisco, and Cedric stormed Ox while Keevan and Josiah jogged behind them. Ox was all smiles. Mr. Roderick came out and gave Ox a big pat on the back and then had the team congratulate the Bulldogs on hard fought game. Jack was so glad his team won, but knew he would have to answer for what he did and it didn't take long. After the teams shook hands Mr. Roderick came over to Jack.
"Mr. Hampton...what you did today is completely unacceptable. I saw that Keevan missed Ox and I saw you play an outstanding game until the last minute. This is a competitive league Mr. Hampton...the most competitive in the state and I will not tolerate behavior like this! We may have won the game, but you lost your place as a starter on this team. You're going to have to earn it back...and it starts right now! While the rest of us change I need you to run five up downs. When you're done you can come join us."
Jack felt relieved and sick all that same time. He looked at the ground and jogged over to the baseline. He started his running while the crowd was still leaving. Keevan and Josiah intentionally walked right past him on their way out of the gym.
"Guess you'll think twice fore you try to call us out boy!"
Jack kept his head down and channeled his anger on running. He looked over at the bleachers and saw his mom glued to her seat. She watched every grueling minute of his post-game run.