Jack wiped the sweat dripping from his forehead and looked up at the scoreboard. The first half against the Sharks was over and it felt like he had just played an entire game. Lifting his head while fighting the urge look towards the ground Jack noticed his entire team looked discouraged. Despite only trailing the Sharks by eight points the team looked like they had just lost the game.
Jack tried to replay the first half of basketball over again in his mind. Davis had jumped out to a six to zero lead to start the game. The Sharks were content to let Jack shoot three pointers until he made the first two which gave them a six point lead. What ensued after that was completely baffling. The Sharks switched their double team to Jack and put their fastest player on Keevan. Keevan couldn't shake his defender and the Sharks center bullied Ox under the hoop. David wasn't effective when he got the ball on offense and every other player that substituted in couldn't seem to make a shot. Jack and Keevan were being shut down for the first time all season.
The double team kept creeping in and out of Jack's mind. Neither player double teaming him was particularly skilled, but they fought hard to not let Jack get open. Jack kept thinking about every move he tried to break free from the double team, but even the small windows he got open his teammates wouldn't dare pass the ball to him. As the game progressed Coach Roderick preached that they couldn't turn the ball over because the Sharks weren't scoring on offense. The game was a defensive battle, but the Sharks had built their lead by forcing some turnover early on in the first half. No matter what Davis did on offense the Sharks had an answer. The hope of making the tournament was fading quickly.
The locker room was deftly quiet as Jack was the last player to walk in. There was a sense that there was no fight left in the team that had fought hard all year. Coach Roderick walked into the locker room a few moments after Jack and the team looked up and then put their heads back down. Jack wondered what Coach Roderick would say. It didn't take long to find out.
"You all look like you just lost!...We haven't lost yet!...Do you want to wave the white flag and surrender after one half?!...If you do that's fine, but I'm not gonna sit around and watch you flush this season down the toilet!"
Coach Roderick threw down his clipboard that he drew plays on and stormed out of the locker room. Jack looked at his teammates who were sitting on benches looking more discouraged than they did a minute ago. The time was now and Jack wasn't about to go down without a fight.
"Guys look up at me."
Keevan raised his head as did Ox. David briefly glanced up, but dropped his head again. Jack saw Leon raise his head and look Jack square in the eye. Jack needed one more player to respond. After a few moments Cisco looked up.
"I've got our starting lineup for the second half...we're going to start Ox at 5, Leon at 4, Keevan at 3, I'll play 2 and Cisco will play the 1. The Sharks are expecting that all of our plays will be funneled through the 1 and 2 positions. What they don't know is that we have two players who can run the point. Cisco...this game is yours for the taking. The Sharks don't have anyone who can keep up with you and you have fresh legs. Leon hasn't played in a game all year. You're going to free up Ox for us Leon. Go out there and mix it up. I don't care if you foul out of this game Leon...your job is to get the Sharks big man off of Ox. Can you do it?"
Leon looked up at him in complete shock and nodded his head.
"Keevan...they're gonna keep that fast guy on you all game. If they sacrifice him to cover Cisco you're gonna be down low and close to the basket. The ball goes to Keevan if he's open. I'm the last option in this game guys. If the Sharks adjust and take the double team off of me then you can pass it to me, but I don't think they're gonna take that risk."
By the time Jack had finished game planning the whole team was looking up at him.
"This is our game for the taking and I'm not going down without a fight! Y'all in!"
The team stood up and rallied around Jack. Keevan led them in a cheer and they were on their way back to the court to warm up.
The scoreboard still showed nine minutes left for halftime. Jack was used to only having a two or three minutes on the clock when they got back to the court. The Sharks hadn't even come out of their locker room. Jack directed the Davis players to line up at the free throw line. Coach Roderick who was sitting on the bench curiously looked in Jack's direction. Jack signaled to his Coach to stay on the bench. Jack passed a ball to Arturo who was the first one standing at the free throw line and then passed another ball to Ox who was standing behind him. Without a second thought Jack smiled and screamed out "KNOCK OUT"!
The Davis team broke out into smiles and Arturo took his shot. He missed the shot and Ox sunk a free throw before Arturo could get his balll in the basket, Arturo was knocked out. Ox retrieved his rebound and got his ball to David who was next in line. David missed his shot and Jocelyn who was behind David missed her free throw shot. David recovered his rebound and laid the ball in the basket. Jocelyn followed by making a layup as well. Jack glanced over at Coach Roderick and winked at his coach. Coach Roderick stared him down with a twinkle in his eye.
When the game of knock out was over Keevan emerged the victor. Jack instinctively knew the team was loose and ready for the second half. While his teammates were laughing and joking with Keevan, Jack looked over at the Sharks who looked incredibly confused as to what the Davis team was doing. Jack let a huge smile travel across his face and rubbed his knuckles across Keevan's head.
The referee blew the whistle to start the second half. The Sharks inbounded the ball. Defense had not been discussed during half time, but Jack figured the team would continue playing Coach's base defense. It had kept the Sharks in check and only allowed twenty three points in the first half.
As the Sharks point guard engaged with Cisco, he tried to dribble past him. Cisco got position on him and was run over by the Shark player. The Shark player was called for charging and Davis had the ball. Cisco quickly brought the ball up the court. As Jack predicted, the Sharks were caught off guard by Keevan switching to a forward position. The Sharks point guard couldn't decide who to cover, by default he covered Cisco who immediately passed the ball to Keevan who easily beat his defender and scored. Jack looked over at the Sharks bench and their coach was yelling at their point guard.
Jack signaled a full court press. Keevan and Cisco trapped the Sharks point guard and Leon somehow intercepted the outlet pass. Leon drove the ball to the basket and attempted a layup, the ball didn't drop, but Ox trailed the shot and easily put back the missed shot. Jack saw Coach Roderick stand up on the bench. Coach Roderick pointed to Jack with a fleck of a smile on his face and signaled to him as if relinquishing the reins of the team to Jack.
The thought of dropping back into a base defense didn't feel right to Jack so he called another full court press. The Sharks point guard got the inbound pass and immediately called a timeout. Jack called his teammates to huddle around him.
"They're going to adjust their defense. Their point guard is going to drop low and cover Keevan. Cisco...you've got to take the ball to the hoop. Ox will clean up any of your messes as long as Leon can jam their big man. You guys ready to upset this team!?"
Keevan tightened his lips and energetically pounded his chest, "We got this!"
Davis dropped back into their base defense. Leon and Ox watched the paint and Cisco and Jack covered the top of the key. Keevan played in the middle and followed the ball. The Sharks got an open shot, but missed. Leon got the rebound and passed the ball to a nearby Ox. Jack laughed inside knowing that Leon would never dare try to pass a ball down the court. Ox got the ball to Cisco.
Cisco slowed the pace of the game. The Sharks predictably shifted their point guard to cover Keevan down low. Cisco beat his defender and drove the ball towards the hoop. Leon grabbed the rebound and put the ball back through the hoop. Davis was two points from
tying the Sharks.
Everyone looked at Jack thinking he would call another press. Running backwards he signaled base defense and the team quickly took their positions down court. The Sharks were more careful on offense this time and scored a tough two point shot over Ox. Jack noticed it was the first shot that Ox had challenged all game. He knew it was a good sign if he could get Ox to let go of his inhibition on the court.
Grabbing the ball and slapping it against his other hand, Ox inbounded the ball to Cisco. Cisco forced the ball up the court as fast as he could go and made a layup going coast to coast. The signal for a base defense was given, but it called for a trap of the point guard at half court. By the time the Sharks point guard got to half court he was ambushed by Keevan and Cisco. He inadvertently crossed the half court line and went back behind it again. The referee called a back court violation and Davis had the ball again.
The Sharks started to look angry. Cisco took the inbound pass and set the offense. Jack lazily ran his part of the play with two defenders still on him. Suddenly Cisco drove the ball towards Jack which was away from the basket. One of Jack's defenders swiped at the ball. Cisco passed the ball around the defender and Jack had an open look. He pulled the trigger and nailed a three pointer. Davis was in the lead!
With fourteen seconds to go in the game Davis had a three point lead. Jack had not substituted any players out of the game. He hadn't consulted Coach Roderick, but he wasn't sure what to do. The Sharks would be inbounding the ball at half court and needed a three pointer to tie. They hadn't attempted one all game and Jack wasn't sure if they were capable of a three pointer or not. Just as the referee handed the ball to the Sharks for the inbound Jack called a timeout. He motioned for his team to come to the bench. When they were reunited with their other teammates Jack noticed that Coach Roderick was still sitting on the bench.
"Coach!...We need you to draw up a defense to stop these guys."
"You've been doing fine without me Jack...you sure you want me to jinx this game."
"You're our coach and I don't know what to do in this situation."
"What's your instinct tell you?"
"It tells me to ask you to draw up a play."
Coach Roderick smiled and huddled the team around him.
"We need to sub in David for Ox...the rest of you can stay in. Go ahead and give them a two point shot. The defense needs to be around the perimeter. Don't let them have a shot and don't foul a three point shooter. Hands up and stay in front of them."
Coach Roderick finished drawing on his clipboard and looked at his team.
"Follow Jack's lead...go get us this win!"
David jumped off the bench and into the game. The rest of team walked back onto the court. Leon took his place guarding the inbound pass. The other players marked a man and stayed close. Keevan stayed close to the Sharks point guard and Jack stayed in the general area of him as well. Coach Roderick's diagram allowed for a floater and Jack knew it needed to be him. The Sharks point guard couldn't get free from Keevan. The inbound pass went to the player Jack was floating around. The player panicked when he got the ball and looked for the point guard. Jack fell back to help Keevan double team the point guard. The Sharks coach yelled to shoot the ball. As time ticked off the clock the player finally raced toward the hoop and scored a layup. There were three seconds left in the game and Davis still had a one point lead. David ran to the base line and inbounded the ball to Leon who wrapped his arms around the basketball. Time expired and Davis had earned their way into the tournament!