Chapter 16: End of the first half

Mt. Vernon was able to score their first basket. Their SG managed to get past Matt as he attacked the basket. He bumped into Kyle again on his way to the rim.

But this time he was lucky enough to get his shot up and over Kyle's extended arms. The ball bounced off the backboard before dropping through the net.

Kyle had a dejected look on his face as he inbounded the ball to Jason. Jason caught the ball and walked by him as slapped him on the back "Good defense Kyle. Keep it up"

Kyle turned to Jason "Good defense? He made the shot Jason. He wouldn't have made the shot if my defense was good"

Jason slowed down slightly "Kyle. All you can do is play the best defense you can. You can't stop every shot. Even the best defensive players in history got cooked once in a while. So keep up the effort okay? Effort is the most important part of defense"

Jason then ran past the half-court line to avoid getting the ten second violation. As the coach saw Jason approaching he gave up "Switch to man to man defense!". He could feel his face heating up slightly after he yelled that.

The players on the court adjusted their positions as they switched from their zone defense to man to man defense.

Jason scanned the court 'Looks like they finally learned their lesson. Too bad it won't help them much' Jason raised his hand and threw out a signal for Kyle.

Kyle saw the signal and started running from the paint to Jason. He spread his feet shoulder lengths apart as he guarded his torso and groin with his hands and arms.

Jason saw that the pick was ready so he began running his defender into Kyle. Jason rushed past Kyle causing his defender to crash into him.

Jason was about to shoot a mid-range shot when he heard the referee blow his whistle "Illegal screen!"

Jason walked over to Kyle "Don't sweat it bro. It's your first time. You're still getting the hang of things. Just remember that after you make contact with the defender you can't stick out your shoulders or your hip okay"

Kyle nodded as the both of them made their way back on defense. The score was 8-2 with Jefferson in the lead. The opposing team let their SG initiate the offense as the PG stood in the corner guarded by Jason.

Jason watched their opponent's offense "Switch Kyle! Now drop back to the paint!" Jason shouted out instructions as he helped coordinate the defense from back in the corner.

There was no shot clock for middle school basketball so Mt. Vernon spent almost a minute reorganizing and executing different plays, But Jefferson was able to stop all their attempts.

Trell used his athleticism to keep his defensive assignment in front of him. Jason was stuck in the corner as he locked down their PG.

Udonis kept the opposing team's PF in check by boxing out and denying him post position. Matt was the only one who was struggling to guard his man but Kyle was there sitting in the paint to clean up any mistakes.

After a few more resets Jason found an opening. Jason left his defensive assignment as he leaped into the passing lane.

Jason managed to steal the ball. He began running his way to the opponents basket. Trell was running the fast break as well. He followed just in case Jason missed and needed someone to get the rebound.

Jason wasn't as physically gifted as Trell so he wasn't able to leave his defender far behind. By the time he made it to the basket his defender had caught up to him 'Doesn't matter. I'll just bank the shot off the backboard'

Jason picked up his dribble as he got ready to lay the ball in off of the back board when he felt something crash into the back of his head. Jason crashed to the hardwood.

The referee was running from the back as he tried to maintain his view of the action. But because of his location and the angle at which it happened he didn't see the hit take place.

The referee blew his whistle and signaled for a block. Giving possession of the ball back to Jefferson middle school.

Trell went up to the player that had hit Jason. He started yelling in his face "What kind of bitch move was that!" Jason was still on the floor. He was slightly disoriented from the hit to the head and the fall.

The opposing player ignored Trell. The referee blew his whistle again "Technical foul! On number 13!" Trell got even more upset as he heard the referee.

He was about to walk up to the referee to complain when he was held back by someone. He turned around and saw Jason.

Jason had gotten up and rushed to Trell in order to minimize the situation "Just let it go man. We still have the ball. We'll get em back with our offense"

Trell took a second to cool down "Alright". He took a step before looking back at Jason "You good?" Jason rubbed the back of his head as he smiled "You know me man. I can take one hell of a beating"

Jason managed to get an assist off of Kyle. Jason and Kyle ran the pick and roll again. This time Kyle set a clean pick.

Mt. Vernon was so focused on Jason that both defenders swarmed him. Unfortunately for them this left Kyle open and with a clear lane to the rim.

Kyle cut through the paint and scored a lay up. On defense Jefferson continued to shutdown Mt. Vernon.

The next few possessions followed the same flow. Jefferson played a slow tempo offense while locking down their opponent.

Middle school basketball had four eight minute quarters unlike the twelve minute quarters in the professional Basketball Association.

With three minutes left in the first quarter Coach Swendel called a timeout. Everybody made their way to the bench as they turned their attention to him.

Coach Swendel gave a thumbs up with a big smile on his face "Great game so far guys! We are up 14-4 against one of the better teams in our county"

He continued "Jason, Matt, Trell, Udonis, and Kyle. Great effort. You guys deserve a breather". He benched them and put the other kids in.

Jason fist bumped all the kids who were subbing into the game "Good luck guys. Play hard"

The bench players did their best but it was easy to see that there was a drop in quality. With Jason and the rest of the starters off the floor Mt. Vernon was able to slowly eat away at their lead.

Jefferson's bench unit had failed to score a basket three possessions in a row. Mt. Vernon however was able to score two quick baskets off of lay ups on the fast break.

By the end of the 1st quarter the score was 17-13. Their 10 point lead had dwindled down to just 4 points in three minutes.

Jason and the rest of the starters came back into the game at the start of the second quarter. Jason came in with his intense defense and lead the others in shutting down their opponents offense.

Jason began to worry 'If I keep up this pace I'm going to get gassed. I need to change things up a bit'

Jason fed the ball to Udonis who had established good post positioning. He began backing his defender down. Udonis bumped and knocked against his defender who seemed to be having trouble with Udonis's physicality.

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[Skills

Free throw: D+

Lay Up: D+

Dunking: D-

Close Shot: D+

Mid Range Shooting: E+

Three Point Shooting: E

Dribbling: E

Passing: D-

Ball Handling: E+

Play Making: E+

Post Scoring: C

Rebounding: C

Post Control: C

Perimeter Defense: D-

Post Defense: C+

Steals: E+

Blocks: D+

Athleticism: B- ]

Jason had used Heart's eye on Udonis back when they were in the locker-room before the game started. He was impressed by his skill levels but he was even more impressed by the fact that Udonis had two skill badges.

[Post Scorer (Bronze): Increases the level of technique for moves used to score in the post. Increases your ability to control post position on the offensive side of the ball.

Locker-Room Leader (Bronze): Increases your ability to control the team's emotions.Does not stack. If multiple players posses this skill the one with the higher grade will be used ]

Jason watched on as Udonis worked down in the post 'I knew his post scoring would come in handy. He can help slow down the tempo and help me conserve some energy'

After backing down his defender a couple times Udonis found himself deep enough into the paint to get a good shot. He turned over his shoulder and threw the ball up with a hook shot.

The ball rolled around the rim a bit before finally sinking through the net. The score was now 19-13. Mt. Vernon continued to struggle with their offense.

Their SG called for a pick and roll with their PF. Udonis switched onto the SG and Matt forgot to switch onto the PF.

The PF found himself with an open lane to the rim. But just as he had leaped into the air for the lay up Kyle rushed towards him from the side.

Kyle jumped into the air with everything he had and stretched his arm out as far as he could. Kyle swatted the ball down. Spiking it out of bounds.

As he landed he could feel a familiar emotion well up from within as a heat began burning in his chest. He tilted his head up and roared "Ahhhhh!!!!!"

The referee blew his whistle signaling that the ball was still Mt. Vernon's. Jason ran up to Kyle to chest bump him "Nice block man!" Kyle had an intense look in his eyes. He nodded and smiled at Jason.

Jason and the team were able to shut down Mt. Vernon on another possession. Jason had the ball as he dribbled it up the court.

He did the same thing as last time. After seeing that Udonis had established post position Jason passed him the ball.

Udonis backed his defender down until he found himself close to the basket again. He put up another hook shot but this time it rolled off the rim.

Luckily Kyle was there to get the rebound. After he got the ball Kyle put it back up. Udonis fist bumped Kyle as they made their way back on defense. The score was now 21-13 with Jefferson in the lead.

The quarter progressed in a similar matter. Jefferson was able to run an effective slow tempoed offense lead by Jason. While snuffing out Mt. Vernon on the defensive side of the ball.

Half the quarter had gone by before Coach Swendel was forced to call a timeout 'They're getting drained' Coach Swendel frowned as he looked at them.

Jason and the rest of the starters were breathing heavily as sweat rolled down their faces. Coach Swendel looked at the scoreboard and saw 26-17.

Coach Swendel was getting nervous 'The fatigue is starting to get to them. They were shutting them down at the beginning of the quarter but the last few possessions Mt. Vernon was able to make some baskets'

Coach Swendel thought for a second before making up his mind "Alright. You guys are gonna hit the bench and get some rest. We'll have the reserves jump back in."

Jason nodded as he took a seat on the bench. Trell, Matt, and Kyle followed suit as they all sat down. Coach Swendel looked at the reserve players that were going into the game "Listen up. It's okay if you guys can't score a basket okay? Try and use up as much of the clock as possible whenever we have the ball. What I really want you guys to do is key in on defense"

Coach Swendel continued "I want you guys locking them down okay? No easy baskets I want you to make them work for their points. Now go give them hell!"

Jason and the rest of the starters watched on in dismay. By the time the quarter had finally ended Jason had a grim expression on his face 'This is gonna be rough'. The scoreboard read 28-26.

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