Center Court Sting (8 page)

Lynn coiled, as though he was about to launch a long jump shot. As he did, Drew moved past Lou and jumped out at Lynn. At
the same moment, Lou spun and moved
toward the basket. Lynn threw a high pass that Lou caught on his way up and banked in. The Rangers had taken a two-point
lead on a perfect pick-and-roll.

As the Ranger fans cheered, Coach Michaels signaled for a time-out. “Looking good,” he said. “Daren, Lynn, sit down and catch
your breath. Shawn, Cris, you’re in. Keep up the pressure! Don’t let up!”

As he passed Daren, Shawn reached out his hands, palms up, and Daren slapped them. “Rangers rule!” Daren said, and Shawn grinned
at him.

The Rebels managed to grab a four-point lead, but when Drew Capp and Tony Tisdale went to the bench for a breather, the Rangers
came back to lead by three. Cris hit a long jump shot, and, with Drew sitting down, Lou was blocking Rebel shots and scoring
inside.

It seemed to Daren that Coach Michaels had made a good prediction. Toward the end
of the first half, the Rebels were looking tired, especially Tisdale, who had played most of the game.

With less than a minute left in the first half and the Rangers trailing by a point, Tony tried a jump shot. As he jumped,
Daren started the fast break, running the other way. When the shot missed and bounced off the back rim, Lynn grabbed it and
dribbled fast to the midcourt line. Tony Tisdale hurried back, gasping for breath, as Lynn lofted a pass to Daren. Tisdale
took a running leap to block Daren’s shot, but Daren pump-faked and held on to the ball. Once Tony had gone by, Daren banked
in a shot off the backboard. When the buzzer sounded to end the first half, the Rangers were hanging on to a one-point lead.
But they were
ahead
.

I
n the locker room, Andy handed out towels, drinks, and encouragement. Daren grinned at Lynn as he wiped his face.

“Tisdale will fade in the second half. He’s tired now.”

Lynn nodded. “Nice fake at the end, there.”

“Thanks,” Daren answered. “Hey, Lou!”

Lou Bettman looked over at Daren.

“Looking tough out there, big guy!”

Lou grinned. “Yo, Lynn, you’re running Tisdale ragged. Keep it up!”

The coach clapped his hands to silence
the happy, excited locker room chatter. “All right, Rangers! Way to go! Now, this half, we’re going to show ’em our secret
weapon. Lynn, on my signal, you get in Tisdale’s face and stay there, while the rest of you on court go into that four-corner
zone. Tisdale may get rattled and start making mistakes. Just keep on him.

“Lou, that fall-away jumper works against Capp. Let’s see more of it. I’ll be making more substitutions in the second half
because I want everyone as fresh as possible for the last few minutes. Don’t worry about getting tired — keep playing hard.
Any questions?”

Daren raised his hand. The coach pointed. “Yes, Daren?”

“I think we can get Capp into foul trouble. If you have the ball near the key, and pump like you’re going to shoot, he may
jump toward you. You can sort of lean in toward
him, and he’ll foul you. He won’t be able to hold up in time.”

Coach Michaels smiled. “Let’s see if it’ll work.” He checked a clipboard. “He has one foul now. If he picks up a couple more,
they’ll either have to sit him down or play him with a bunch of fouls, which would handcuff him. Good idea, Daren.”

Daren smiled.

“All right,” called the coach, clapping his hands a few times. “Let’s see the hands!”

The Rangers stuck their hands together in the middle of the circle. The coach put his in as well.

“We’re going to keep running the length of the court. If you get tired, I’ll put someone in for you. We’re going to mix up
our defenses. We’re going to move the ball around on offense until someone has a really good shot. As they tire, we’ll have
the
shots. By late second half, we’ll be pulling away from them. Right?”

“Yeah!” The Rangers shouted.

“You ready to take it to ’em?”

“Yeah!”
they yelled.

“Let’s go get ’em!” shouted Coach Michaels.

“YEAH!” Looking determined, the Rangers ran out into the gym.

As the second half began, it was the Rebels who seemed to take control. Sam Farrell, a rugged forward, sank a long basket
over Daren to give them a one-point lead. The Rebel fans yelled and waved their signs.

Lynn missed a shot, and Drew Capp nabbed the rebound. The Rebels took over, and the Rangers tried a full-court press to slow
them down. Just as Tisdale finally got the ball over the midcourt line, Daren thought he saw a chance to steal. He reached
in to grab the ball, and got it. And a foul, too. Lou looked furious at the call and started to protest, but Daren shook
his head and hurried to the center.

“The ref’s right,” he said to Lou. “I hit him on the arm. My fault.”

As the Rebels put the ball in play, Coach Michaels signaled for the Rangers’ “secret weapon.”

Tony Tisdale dribbled across the center line, and Lynn came up to cover him. The other Rangers spread out. Wherever Tisdale
looked, Lynn and another Ranger stood in his way with arms outstretched. Unable to get a clear shot, he threw a pass in the
general direction of Sam Farrell. But Daren picked it off. The Rangers scored on a fast break. Now it was the Ranger fans’
turn to cheer.

They traded scores for several minutes, and neither team led by more than three
points. Then the Rangers switched defenses, and the Rebels looked confused. With Lynn giving Tisdale fits, both on offense
and defense, the star Rebel was soon breathing hard again.

Daren got a pass from Lynn inside and turned to take a jump shot. As he went up, he noticed Drew Capp leaping toward him with
both hands held high. Daren leaned in as he jumped, releasing the ball just before Capp hit his shooting hand. Daren not only
hit the basket but the free throw as well.

As Daren ran back on defense, Shawn stood up and clapped. “Way to go, Dar!” he yelled. A few minutes later, Cris Campbell
managed to get the big Rebel center to foul again. The Rebels had no choice but to call time and put in their substitute center.
With Capp out, Lou was able to get free inside for easy shots and took control of the boards. The Rangers built up an eight-point
edge.

Coach Michaels gave his starters short rests, taking them out one or two at a time. The bench players, especially Peter Stuber
and Shawn Howe, were fresh and kept up the defensive pressure.

Then, Tony Tisdale got a second wind and hit three straight shots. After a Ranger turnover, Rebel guard Abe Isaacs hit a jump
shot from downtown — and the Rebels were within two points with a minute and a half to go. They took a time-out.

When play resumed, Drew Capp had come back off the bench. But he was one foul away from fouling out and had to be careful.
Tony Tisdale finally missed one, and Lou pulled down the ball. He threw a perfect outlet pass to Lynn, who got it to Cris
Campbell — and the Rangers had another fast break!

Cris found Daren on the baseline and fired a bullet pass to him. Daren got his
jump shot off before Sam Farrell could reach him, and it swooshed through the net.

But Tony Tisdale completed a three-point play a few seconds later, banking in a shot from the corner and adding a free throw
when Cris fouled him.

Daren looked at the clock. There were thirty seconds left, and the Rangers led by a point. Lynn put the ball in play, throwing
a pass intended for Daren. Out of nowhere, Tisdale darted in front of Daren to grab the ball and lay it in.

The Rebels led!

Coach Michaels called for a Ranger timeout — their last one.

“We’re going to win this with a pick-and-roll,” he said, and diagrammed the play he wanted on a small chalkboard. “Let’s win
it!”

Lynn dribbled downcourt as the Rebels set up their defense. As the closing seconds ticked away, he passed to Daren, who fired
to Cris Campbell. Lynn stayed outside, and Cris gave him the ball. Daren wheeled to the top of the key, and Lou stood in
the high post, just in front of him, his back to the basket.

Ten seconds left. Daren took a quick pass from Lynn, dribbled once, and set himself for a jump shot. Sam Farrell tried to
get past Lou, and Drew Capp kept his arms high to block Daren’s view.

Lou spun around and darted past Drew. Daren jumped, but instead of shooting, he threw a pass that Lou caught in mid-stride.
He laid it in off the glass — and the Rangers took a one-point lead, with three seconds to play!

The Rebels had no more time-outs. They inbounded the ball, and Tony Tisdale threw up a long, desperate shot, from just across
the midcourt line.

It fell short. The Rangers had won!

Suddenly Daren found himself in the middle of a yelling mob of Ranger players and fans. He, Lou, and Lynn were hugging each
other, and Shawn jumped on Lynn’s back. Daren forced his way to the edge of the celebration, grabbed Andy Higgins, and dragged
him into the middle of the crowd.

The Rangers finally started for the locker room. Daren found himself face to face with Tony Tisdale, who stuck out a hand.

“Good game,” said Tony.

Daren shook hands, and replied, “Thanks. You, too.”

Tisdale smiled. “We’ll see you guys in the tournament.”

Daren nodded as he pushed open the locker room door.

Inside, Lou was holding up his red shoes. “These shoes are good luck!” he yelled.

Shawn laughed. “Hey, let’s all paint our shoes red!”

“Right!” Lynn shouted. “We’ll go all the way!”

“What for?” Daren asked. “Who needs good luck… when you play like a
team!”

Baseball Flyhawk	Dive Right In
Baseball Turnaround	Double Play at Short
The Basket Counts	Face-Off
Body Check	Fairway Phenom
Catch That Pass!	Football Double Threat
Catcher with a Glass Arm	Football Fugitive
Catching Waves	Football Nightmare
Center Court Sting	The Fox Steals Home