Chapter 131: Keep the fire burning

Jason watched as 3D scored another easy point in the paint after posting up Vince. He just didn't have the ability to properly defend him in the post.

On offense DJ waited for the rest of the team to get in position before calling out for a play. Vince came to the perimeter to set a screen for Matt who was out on the right wing.

Matt then used the screen to run to the top of the perimeter. As he was running he took a glance at the clock and noticed that there were only five seconds left.

DJ got into position to hand the ball off to Matt as well as to set a screen for him. Matt took the ball from DJ and used his screen in an attempt to get open.

Matt's defender as well as DJ's defender swarmed him after the screen. This left DJ open as he began to cut toward the basket.

Matt saw this and threw an overhead pass to DJ. The ball flew over the heads of the defenders but it was a little out of control.

It took a little extra work for DJ to catch the pass as he ended up fumbling it a little. DJ saw that there was less than a second left as he threw up a rushed shot from mid range.

The crowd watched as the ball just barely left DJ's hands right before the clock buzzed indicating the end of the quarter.

The ball flew in a straight arc toward the basket. The arc was good and the shot looked like it had a chance to go in.

As the ball hit the rim the tension in the gym could be felt. Bounce, bounce, bounce, eventually the ball rolled to the right side of the rim before falling off.

The entire crowd let out a collective groan in disappointment after seeing that the shot had failed to go in.

DJ had been holding his right hand up from the follow through of the shot. After seeing the shot roll off the rim he hung his head in shame.

It wasn't until Vince came over and patted him on the back that he was able to brush the thoughts in his mind aside and make his way over to the bench.

As the players made their way back to the court everyone on the bench held their hands out to high five them.

But despite that the mood on the bench was somber as no one had the energy to even start up a conversation.

The small lead that Jefferson had before Kyle's injury was now almost gone as the score was 78-74 with Nashton Academy down by just 4 points.

Jason had wanted to jump back into the game after Kyle had gone down with a sprained ankle but Udonis had stopped him.

"Just focus on gettin some rest right now Jaya. It won't do much for you to jump in now. Just make sure you ready for a battle in the 4th."

After hearing that Jason reluctantly stayed on the bench and watched as Jefferson's lead was nibbled away by Nashton Academy.

Jason took a look around and shook his head 'Kyle's injury is really getting in these guys head. I can't really blame them though.

It's taking everything I have to keep calm. But I know that Kyle would want us to focus on getting the win.'

Jason stood up "You guys are making me sick. What's with the dead faces? I get that you guys are sad because Kyle got hurt.

But do you think he would be happy to see us acting depressed and shit? Kyle told his mom to wait until the game was finished to take him to the hospital.

You think that was so that he could hear that we lost? We need to get the win so that we can tell him that we're the best team in the county!"

Udonis joined in "Jaya's right. Why the hell are y'all acting so fuckin dead for? We need to win this game and tell Kyle that we got the dub."

The rest of the guys looked up as the fire in their eyes was beginning to come back to life. Jason stuck his hand out.

"We need to play our hearts out. This is our house and this is our court. I'll be damned if we let some other team get that county banner here.

So one last time guys. Jefferson on three!" All of the guys stacked their hands on top of each other as they began to shout in unison "ONE! TWO! THREE! JEFFERSON!"

The break came to an end as both teams made their way back to the court to start the 4th quarter.

Their lineup to start the quarter was Jason at Point Guard, DJ at Shooting Guard, Trell at Small Forward, Vince at Power Forward, and Udonis at Center.

After Udonis inbounded the ball to Jason he began to scan the court with a passionate fire burning in his eyes 'We'll get that dub for you Kyle. Just wait for the good news.'

- - -

After seeing Kyle sprain his ankle both Billy and Troy shook their heads in sadness and disappointment. 

And as he stood up with the help of his teammates they joined the rest of the crowd as they clapped for Kyle.

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They watched as the 3rd quarter came to an end with the score being close. Billy sighed "That was a pretty bad ankle sprain."

Troy nodded his head in agreement "And it came at the worst possible time. Kyle was the only one who could make things at least a little hard for 3D.

Without Kyle there to secure the paint not only will things be too easy for 3D. It'll be easy for the rest of Nashton Academy too.

Kyle's rim protection made him a vital piece of Jefferson's defense. If Jason was the anchor out in the perimeter then Kyle was the chain that helped tie things together in the paint."

Billy added "Not just that. Even if Jason can drag Jefferson to a win tonight there's no way that Kyle can recover in time for the state tournament to begin.

Their rotations were already tight as things were when they had 8 players. Now with only 7 players available there's going to be practically no time to rest.

And Kyle was a starter too. Now they are going to have to bump someone up from the bench into the starting lineup.

This was the worst thing that could have happened to Jefferson. I feel bad for those kids. They were playing their hearts out this whole season.

I think it would be a miracle if they could even get past the first round of the state tournament."

Troy sighed "Forget the state tournament. It would take a signature performance from Jason just to pull them through tonight.

But I think that this will turn out to be good for them in the long run. A smooth road leads to a soft traveler.

Things have been going too well for Jason and the rest of the guys from Jefferson. You can only forge a sword by putting it through some fire.

It's better that they experience some hardships now than later down the road. Next year Jefferson will be a real threat. I could even see them making it to the national level."

- - -

Jason crossed half court and waited for the rest of the guys to get in position before calling for a screen from Udonis.

Udonis came out to the perimeter with 3D following him as he set a screen for Jason. As soon as Jason saw that Udonis was set he faked to the right.

Jason's defender fell for the fake as he dived under the screen in order to defend the pick and roll.

Unfortunately for him Jason didn't even drive in that direction. As soon as he saw his defender falling for the fake Jason pulled the trigger and shot a quick three pointer.

Inside the gym everyone's attention was on the ball as it flew through the air. The ball rattled around inside the rim before falling through the net.

The crowd began to cheer after seeing the three pointer go in. Jason held up three fingers on his right hand before using it to salute the crowd.

He then screamed out "LET'S GO!" The energy in the crowd went up as they began to make some noise.

They were clapping, stomping their feet, and chanting "Let's go Jefferson, let's go! Let's go Jefferson, let's go!"

On defense Jason was standing in front of the opposing team's Big as he then jumped up and down while waving his hands to make it hard for him to make the inbound pass.

After a few seconds he finally found a passing lane as his Shooting Guard ran to an empty section of the court.

The Shooting guard then began to dribble the ball up the court. Before he could cross half court he heard one of his teammates shout out "Look out!"

But before he could even turn around he felt the ball as it was poked away from him. Jason had silently attacked him from behind as he poked the ball free.

The basketball bounced and was about to land out of bounds but Jason ran toward it and jumped with everything that he had.

He barely caught the ball in his right hand. He didn't have time to fix his hold on the ball as he then began to fall toward the ground.

Jason didn't even think about braking his fall. His gaze locked on to the Shooting Guard who he had just stolen the ball from.

They were only a few feet away. As Jason was falling down to the ground he threw the ball toward the Shooting Guard.

Jason crashed to the floor and skid a few feet until he hit the bottom of the bleachers. Nashton Academy's Shooting Guard was caught off guard as the ball hit his leg before going out of bounds.

The referee blew his whistle before shouting "Jefferson's ball!" Jason was laying on the floor as he heard that.

His breathing was rough and his back was hurting slightly but there was nothing but happiness on his face as he grinned before shouting out "Yeahhhh!"

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