Chapter 116: A change in the game plan

The last thirty seconds of the quarter passed by as Millbrooks was forced to put up a heavily contested three pointer that ended up clanking.

As the team made their way to the bench Jason walked up to Matt and extended his right fist toward him "Good hustle bro. That was some lock down type shit. You really put the clamps on him."

Matt smiled as he bumped back Jason's fist with his own "What can I say man. I guess I just learned from the best."

The two of them laughed as they took a seat. Ms. Yuller had the clipboard in her hands as she tried her best to look like a coach. Or at least what she thought a coach should look like.

She walked to the front of the team "Good job gentlemen. That was a magnificent performance in the first act. The audience was completely enthralled!

Now we must ensure that we maintain this quality of performance after the interlude all the way until the curtain draw!"

Jason and Kyle looked at each other before giving an awkward smile. Kyle didn't say anything but he mouthed 'Is she serious?'

Jason chuckled before mouthing back 'Hey at least she's trying. And it looks like she's really feeling it right now so let's not ruin the moment.'

- - -

On the other side of the court. All of Millbrook's players had a defeated expression on their face as they sat on the bench.

They knew that they were the underdogs coming into tonight's game but they thought that they would at least have a chance.

Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that the game would be such a one sided slaughter.

The head coach for Millbrook's team had an unsightly expression on his face as he looked at his players.

'God damn it! We're the third ranked team in the county. We've been one of the most consistent team for years.

How the hell are we losing to a team that was one of the worst teams in the county last year? Can one player really make such a huge difference?

We can't afford to lose. Especially not in such a lopsided way. I have a fucking pay raise riding on the line.'

The assistant coach saw how upset the head coach was and gulped. After a minute of hesitation he walked up to the head coach and whispered.

"There is still plan B. Remember what we found out in the latest scouting reports? Jefferson is known for being a hot headed team. Especially Jason Yang and Trell McDaniels.

In Trell's case he just got back from a one game suspension. I think if we play a little physical and get under their skin we might have a shot of winning the game.

At the very least it should improve our chances. Honestly speaking we are getting our asses handed to us sir. It's not like changing things up could make things any worse."

The head coach for Millbrook took a few moments to process what his assistant had said. After thinking it over for a bit he sighed as he nodded his head.

"Let's go with your suggestion. We are going to be changing things up starting from the beginning of the next quarter."

The head coach went to the front of his players and got their attention. He spent the majority of the break time explaining the new game plan to his players.

The clock buzzed just as soon as he finished talking to his players. But before they headed back out to the court he gave them another reminder.

"Remember guys, I want you to play physical out there. Don't go overboard and do anything flagrant. 

Make sure you keep it within the confines of the sport. You can foul but don't do anything flagrant. Just be physical and make sure that they feel your presence."

- - -

The teams went back out on to the floor as the start of the second quarter was underway. Trell had played out most of the first quarter.

So right now Jefferson's lineup consisted of Jason at Point Guard, Matt at Shooting Guard, Nick at Small Forward, Udonis at Power Forward, and Kyle at Center.

Millbrook inbounded the ball to their Point Guard who then began to dribble the ball up the court. 

As soon as he crossed halfcourt Jason started moving toward him in order to defend him. But the Point Guard passed the ball off to the wing before Jason could even initiate contact.

Matt was now the one guarding the ball handler as he called for a screen from one of his Big Men.

Matt saw the screen and fought to get over it as his defensive assignment began his attack. However as he was trying to get over the screen he felt the screener grab on to the edge of his jersey.

The moment of delay caused by the jersey grab caused Matt to give up a bit of room to his defensive assignment.

Luckily Udonis noticed the sudden change as he quickly went from sagging on the screen to stick with the roller to stepping up in order to contain the ball handler.

Udonis did a good job of contesting the shot as the player from the opposing team pulled up for the mid range shot but after a few lucky bounces the ball ended up falling through the net.

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The players on Millbrook's bench cheered as they managed to score the first basket of the quarter. The score was now 32 to 11.

Matt went over to Udonis and apologized "My bad UD." Udonis shook his head "Nah, it ain't your fault bro. I saw the guy grab your jersey like a kid grabbin at his mamma's hand."

Matt had a frustrated expression on his face as he sighed "I'm glad that at least somebody saw that shit. Now it would be nice if the refs weren't so blind."

Udonis chuckled before patting Matt on the back "Hey it happens sometimes. Refs are gonna miss the occasional call. Let's get back on D."

Matt nodded his head as the two of them made their way back on defense. Kyle inbounded the ball to Jason who then brought it up the court.

Jason gave his team a moment to get ready before starting the play. He called for a screen from Kyle.

Kyle made his way over from the left side of the block to set a screen for Jason who was at the top of the perimeter.

As soon as Kyle was in place Jason began to drive to the left. Forcing his defender into the screen that Kyle had set.

Jason got past Kyle but before the play could develop any further he heard the referee blow his whistle.

Jason turned around and saw Kyle bent over slightly as he clutched at his side. The referee shouted "Personal foul on number 0."

Jason took the ball from the referee and walked over to Kyle who was in position to inbound the ball again.

"You okay bro? What happened?" Kyle rubbed his side before smiling in pain "Nothing much. Your defender just got a little too eager in trying to fight over my screen. I'm good though."

After hearing what Kyle had to say Jason got a weird feeling in his stomach 'First the jersey grabbing now they get a foul for forcefully trying to get over the screen?

It seems kinda odd that all of this happened as soon as we started the second quarter. Does this mean anything? Or am I just reading too much into it?'

Although Jason hadn't said anything he did see Matt get his jersey grabbed, he never misses anything that happens on the court, but he didn't think too much of it.

He simply chalked it off as the frustrations of a player on a team that was getting beaten black and blue.

But now that there was the thing with the defender getting too aggressive with fighting over Kyle's screen Jason was starting to get suspicious. 

Jason made a note but he pushed the thought to the back of his mind as he handed the ball over to Kyle.

"Alright bro, as long as you say that you're good. Just remember to let us know if you need to sub out okay? Don't try to be a tough guy."

Kyle smiled before grabbing the ball out of Jason's hands "You're literally the last guy that should be telling me that. Hurry up before we get a technical for slowing down the game."

Jason caught the inbound pass from Kyle before setting up the offense. Jason decided to run a different play.

He passed the ball to Nick who was on the left side of the wing. Nick then tossed the ball down to Udonis who was posting up down in the block.

The other team learned their lesson from last time as they didn't send their other Big down to help in the post.

After backing down his defender a few times Udonis found himself with deep positioning down in the pain.

He faked to the left before turning over his right shoulder for the hook shot. The defender fell for the fake which made it hard for him to contest the actual shot.

The ball fell straight through the net. Udonis pumped his fist before heading back down the court. Jason and Kyle high fived him as he passed.

Now it was Millbrook's turn on offense again. As soon as their Point Guard crossed the halfcourt Jason began pressing him with his tight defense.

The Point Guard had no choice but to turn his back to Jason and use his body to protect the ball from being stolen.

The Point Guard then called for a screen from one of his Bigs. Kyle followed his defensive assignment as he made his way out to the perimeter.

The Big set the scree on the right wing. After seeing that his teammate was ready and in position he began driving in that direction.

Jason followed his defensive assignment as he stayed on his hip. He also saw the screen and changed course so that he would go slightly under the screen.

Just as the Point Guard and Jason were about to go by the screen the Big Man stepped forward at the last second.

Jason didn't have the time to change directions or step on the breaks so he ended up running straight into the six foot (1.8m) Big.

The opposing Big Man had been anticipating the impact and had the chance to brace himself.

Unfortunately Jason didn't have the same opportunity. The sudden impact blindsided him. Jason crumpled to the floor.

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