Crox stood next to Frank once again. Crox, who had looked massive on the court just a few minutes ago looked normal beside Frank.
Frank, 7'1, was perhaps one of the tallest players from any school. He was tall and long, making him a good shot blocker. He was not the most athletic, but his height and length made up for it.
Crox, on the other hand, was 6'11. Compared to most Centers, Crox was large. He was strongly built, heavy and strong. His verticals was nothing to gawk at, but he could jump high enough to dunk on most people.
The Gunners could not have subbed Frank in at a better timing. Just when the Beasts decided to play big, Frank entered the game again.
Frank ran up the court, getting into the paint. Crox prevented him from getting too deep into the paint.
Humi dribbled the ball up the court, Joseph in front of him. Joseph glanced back, Frank and Crox battling for position.
Frank extended an arm.
Humi threw the ball to Frank. However, the pass was too low. Joseph had expected the pass, so he lunged out and snatched it out of the air.
Joseph landed and started a fast break.
He drove towards the rim, Humi in front of him.
Before Joseph could get to the Three-point line, Humi grabbed his arm.
'BEEEP' (whistle)
"#32 Red Defensive Foul, Blue ball." (Referee)
Joseph sighed as he stepped out of bounds. Humi had prevented him from getting points off a fast break, forcing him to slow down and giving time for the Gunners to set up their offence.
Joseph inbounded the ball to Rodney. Joseph ran behind Rodney, but Humi was also pursuing him. Rodney did a hand off to Joseph, Humi already on him, reaching out to poke the ball away.
Joseph kept the ball away, pivoting with his left foot.
Rodney was at the right wing, the three big men gathered near the paint. Frank was doing a terrible job at keeping Crox out of the paint.
Joseph threw the ball in to Spex, who gathered himself to try and dunk. Crox was to the right, Frank with him. Frank stepped up, extending a hand.
Spex gave up on the dunk and shovelled a pass around Frank to Crox. With a long arm, Frank managed to tap the ball. The ball bounced once before Frank palmed it and brought it near his body, Crox not getting a chance to steal the ball.
Frank passed the ball ahead to Humi, who slowed the game down.
Frank and Crox got into the paint again. Frank extended a hand, calling for the ball in the high post.
Humi threw the ball high, too high for Joseph to catch. Frank caught it with his right, his left shoulder at Crox. Frank's left foot was the pivot foot.
Joseph stepped closer to Frank, but decided to close in on Humi instead.
Frank took a single dribble, pushing against Crox. In response, Crox pushed back.
However, when Crox pushed, Frank jumped, his right arm extended beside his face. He flicked the shot up and in. A jump hook.
'BEEEEP' (whistle)
"#33 Blue shooting foul, basket count, #2 Red 1 free throw." (Referee)
Frank got to the free throw line.
He got the ball, bouncing it while shifting his feet for four dribbles before he brought up the ball. The release was much higher than his head.
(1/1) made
The Gunners ran back on defence. Joseph brought the ball up.
Joseph signalled to Toby, who ran up to set a screen on Humi. Kenny ran up to cover Joseph. Toby ran into the paint, Humi trailing him.
Joseph threw a bounce pass which barely evaded Kenny's reach. Toby caught the ball and threw up a floater.
With Frank under the rim, Toby decided against going for a layup. Crox tried fighting for position, but Frank was managing to box him out.
With Frank and Crox on the right, Spex and Jared were at the left. Spex was out positioning Jared.
The ball bounced off the back rim before bouncing off the left side of the rim. Spex tried to jump for the rebound.
Frank took a step and jumped, extending his left arm. He caught the ball when it was just under the rim. He landed, hugging the ball to make sure Spex did not poke it away.
When the Beasts ran back on defence, Frank passed it off to Kenny.
Kenny dribbled up the court slowly. Frank ran ahead of him, getting into the paint again. While he fought for the high post position, Rodney strayed from the Three-point line to cover Frank.
Kenny, seeing the space, rose up for a three-point shot.
Rodney ran up, jumping to try and disrupt the shot.
The shot fell short, bouncing off the front rim. Crox extended his arms, catching it. When Crox turned around with the ball, Frank swiped down, getting the ball out of Crox's hands.
Frank caught the ball, stumbling slightly as he leaned forward to grab it. He readjusted himself, making sure to keep his right foot as his pivot.
Frank started backing Crox down in the paint. Crox was unable to get a good footing, his feet shifting backwards.
When Frank was close enough to the rim, he jumped. Crox jumped too, arm extended. Frank was just a bit faster.
He dunked the ball with one arm, grabbing the rim. The ball bounced off Crox's head.
Frank held the rim with one arm, and he was standing on tiptoes.
Crox scowled, but Joseph ran up to him and pulled him back.
Frank let go of the rim and ran back on defence.
"Calm down." (Joseph)
"I am calm*." (Crox)
* He isn't
"You're playing against maybe one of the best Centers, of course you'll have difficulty guarding him." (Joseph)
Their supersized lineup was not working out for them. Their plan to dominate the paint was denied by defence which prevented easy passes to the bigs inside as well as an elite shot blocker in Frank.
Their outside scoring was almost non existent with two slashing guards.
Joseph turned his body, keeping a shoulder between him and Humi. He then passed the ball over to Rodney, who did a jab step. Kenny shifted his feet too much.
Rodney shot a three of his own.
The ball rattled in and out. Crox managed to get the better of Frank, getting the rebound. The moment he landed, he jumped again, holding the ball with one arm and ready to dunk.
Frank reached out from behind him, swatting the ball against the backboard. Spex tried collecting the ball, but Jared managed to box him out long enough for Frank to get the ball.
The Gunners once again took it slow.
Frank helped set a screen for Humi.
"Left screen!" (Crox)
Humi drove to the left, Joseph unable to get around the Frank screen. Crox ended up covering Humi.
Frank did a light push off Joseph, running to the rim. Humi passed the ball to Frank. Spex stepped away from Jared and stood in front of Frank.
Frank jumped for a two-handed dunk. Spex jumped too, arm extended. Frank moved the ball to the side, Spex hitting his arm and dragging it down instead. The ball got out of Frank's hands and out of bounds.
'BEEEEP' (whistle)
"#2 Blue shooting foul. #2 Red will have 2 free throws." (Referee)
Theodore was already off the bench.
Frank got to the free throw line, breathing slightly harder than he was in the first quarter.
He got the ball and did his usual free throw routine.
(1/2) made
There was a substitution for the Beasts.
***
Beasts Substitution:
[#2 6'10 Spex Spencer] —> [#15 6'4 Theodore Hatchet]
***
(2/2) missed.
Crox secured the rebound.
The Beasts went on offence. Since Frank subbed into the game, the Gunners had gone on a 6-0 run, rather, Frank had gone on a 6-0 run against the Beasts.
Even worse than that, the Beasts were starting to get into some foul trouble. Both teams were at 3 team fouls, but at the pace they were going, the Beasts might go into the bonus.
Worst yet, their offence was stagnating.
Joseph signalled to Theodore, who ran up from the left corner. Joseph passed the ball to Theodore, who stopped on the spot and shot a three. Theodore's release point was too high for Kenny to block.
The ball arched in the air before completely missing the rim. The ball bounced barely in the court. Toby jumped out and managed to throw the ball over his head and into the hands of Jared.
Jared passed the ball to Humi, who slowed things down again. Frank got into his usual high post position against Crox.
Humi threw it high once again.
Frank brought the ball up, faking a jump hook. Crox jumped slightly, realising too late that it was a fake. Frank took a single dribble, spinning around Crox.
He took two long strides towards the basket. Toby got out of his way as Frank dunked the ball again.
Joseph glanced at Coach Dom, but he showed no signs of wanting to call a timeout.
***
Time: 4:32
Score: 49-38 (Beasts lead by 11)
***