Raising Isaiah (No future updates)

Chapter 17

As usual I apologize for any grammatical errors.

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"J! Pass me the ball!" I shouted across the court.

All around us the excitement of the game penetrated Hamilton's gymnasium. We were in the fourth quarter and needed two more points to pass up Geneva High and win. The crowd rocked on their feet and screamed out jeers each time Geneva gained a lead or cheered every time Hamilton scored a point.

"Yo Jeremy, pass me the ball!" I called out again.

For the last ten seconds I had been calling to him but he hadn't once looked my way.

"Finley!" Coach Boden called out to him. "Pass the damn ball to Morgan!"

Again Jeremy ignored Coach Boden and instead charged toward the basket and sunk the ball.

The crowd let off a roar of excitement.

"Hustle, hustle, hustle!" Coach Boden drilled as a player from Geneva picked up the ball and charged towards the other end of the court.

Hamilton's players went after the Geneva players, me leading the charge. Quinton, Geneva's best player dribbled down the court with determination. I noticed that he favored his right leg a lot which usually was a telltale sign that he didn't have much clout in his left leg. He must've been injured at some point.

So that's where I hit him hard.

I jumped in front of him then blocked him when he tried to evade me on his right. He had no choice but to go left and that's when I plucked the ball right out of his hand. I heard him grunt as I headed back down to Hamilton's side of the court. This was the winning shot. I couldn't afford to screw this up. With almost effortless precision I dribbled down the court toward the basket. Quinton was on the back of my heels and I could see him gaining in my peripheral. In seconds he stood between me and my shot. If I tried to shoot now and missed it would be a reckless gamble shot and maybe even cost us the game.

I got something for that ass! I thought confidently.

I checked my left for Elijah and sure enough he was there checking another player. "E!" I called out. "Elijah, head up!"

I chucked the ball over to him and watched as he scooped it up, dribbled it for a moment but after seeing that I was still occupied with Quentin he passed it to Jeremy who was open. With a quick glance at the clock I knew the winning shot had to be within the next eight seconds. Desperately but successfully I dodged Quinton so that Jeremy could see that I was open.

"J! Yo Jeremy!" I called out to him.

I watched him glance over at me then down at the ball. He fixed me with the hardest glare before he turned to shoot the shot himself.

Always, in these moments, it felt like time would slow as every player, coach and audience member watched the ball as it soared towards the basket.

Jeremy was not a good three point shooter.

It wasn't that he couldn't shoot a three pointer. It was the fact that every time he did try he more often than not hit the rim. We'd worked on it all summer and he just couldn't get it. Which is why my heart nearly burst out of my chest as I watched the ball soar toward the basket. My breath was caught in my throat and I held it as the ball hit the circled rim of the basket and went round, and round and round until...

Swish!

In seconds the entire crowd was up on its feet and we all cheered with joy. We had won!