Close Call In Coventry

Today was game day number two. We had to drive about 5 hours down to Coventry, England, this time. We left around 9:30 this morning and got back around 2 a.m. We arrived at the gym, chilled for a couple of hours, and then got ready for the game. We were warming up, and the Coventry guys looked like some serious ballers. Again, they were a bigger team, but we were faster. The game was fast-paced and intense the whole time. Coventry's first basket was an absolutely massive dunk. One of their players was about 6'5", drove the lane, and jumped. He kept rising until his chin was above the rim and proceeded to slam the ball through. Ally got absolutely posterized. They got really excited and loud, but we didn't let it get to us. We ran a lot, and we only had seven players! I played nearly the entire game again and just kept running (just like Lehman taught us all those years ago). At the beginning of the game Coventry gained a 6-4 advantage, but then we regained the lead and never gave it back. We built our lead up to 7 points at halftime (49-42), with most of our baskets coming from layups and our post players. I hit my share of shots, had some rebounds, and made some assists throughout the match, but Dade and Ally were our main scorers. *I'd like to note that I had achieved personal milestone in that half--I made a 4-point play by getting fouled while draining a 3-pointer in my defender's face. It was unbelievably satisfying :) Throughout the second half we would on runs and Coventry would respond with runs of their own, and eventually the game was tied 83-83 in the fourth quarter. Coventry had an insane athlete who did most of their scoring. He was built like a small bus and didn't miss many scoring opportunities. We traded baskets for a bit and eventually found ourselves leading 98-91 with 1:29 remaining. I hit a big three to sway some momentum, and then Dade made a beautiful 3-point play by getting fouled and making a layup. After he made the free throws, we knew we had it in the bag. Their freak-star athlete had other plans. After they took a timeout, he started making crazy plays. He would either drive and make a crazy layup, drain a 3, or get fouled and make all the free throws. They would run a play for him, make a shot, and foul us when we had the ball. Ally made two free throws (100-96), missed two free throws (100-99), and then Dade made two more to seal it. That made the score 102-99 with 7.5 seconds to go. They called another timeout and ran a play for you-know-who. They inbounded the ball to him, and he took a deep three, which glanced off the front of the rim. One of his teammates grabbed the rebound and was fouled as time expired and the buzzer sounded. After a bit of discussion, the refs decided to put 0.5 seconds on the clock and give them two free throws. He made the first, and then intentionally missed the second. Julian grabbed the rebound, and it was finally over. 102-100. It was a close call down in Coventry, but we won another tough road test, and it sounds like we'll finally get a home match next week! We're in the quarter-finals of the playoffs now; hopefully our run won't stop! I haven't been in that high-scoring of a game since my Junior Varsity days at Sioux Center. It was insane, but a ton of fun. I think I ended up with 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists. Dade and Ally must have each had 30 points. They just kept making layups! It was a great day and an even better win for us. Now all I have to do is go to a few classes tomorrow and then it's off to Alicante to relax for the weekend! Not bad! Cheers.