Full Court Press by Todd Hafer

Cody.
    â€œYou’re mine, Martin! You’re gonna get rocked!”
    Pork Chop planted himself on the other side of Macy, leaned in close to him, and belched in his ear.
    â€œRock that, Macy,” he said.
    Central controlled the opening tap, and Clay went immediately to Macy, who posted up Cody in the low block. Macy faked right and then pivoted left, elevated smoothly, and banked in a right-handed jump hook.
    After Dylan tied the game with a baseline jumper, Central isolated Macy on Cody again. This time, Macy didn’t go glass.
    â€œGet used to it, boy,” Macy said as the ball slid through the net.
    After Macy hit his third straight shot over Cody, Coach Clayton called time-out. Alston met Cody before he got to the sidelines.
    â€œCody,” he said, his voice already hoarse, “you gotta overplay Macy to his right hand. That way, you’ll throw off his rhythm, force him to go lefty—and we both know he’s got almost no game to his left. Come on, dude! You can shut him down!”
    Coach Clayton joined the conversation. He handed Cody a water bottle.
    â€œYou understand what Terry’s saying?”
    Cody nodded slowly. “Yeah, yeah. I shoulda figured that out. I kinda lost my focus for a while. I’m sorry, Coach—I mean, coaches.”
    On Central’s next possession, Macy found Cody nearly hanging on his right arm as he wheeled to shoot. Cody saw surprise in Macy’s eyes as he launched his shot. The look went from surprise to dismay as the ball arced over the rim and into Dylan’s hands.
    Pork Chop fired an outlet pass to Goddard, then trailed Macy up the court, whispering loudly, “Air ball! Air ball!”
    On Central’s next two possessions, Clay shot free throw line jumpers, going one for two. Just before the end of the first quarter, Clay decided to give Macy another chance to get his jump-hook back on track. Again, Cody shaded Macy to his right—and leaped so hard he heard himself grunt as he strained to get at least a fingertip on Macy’s shot.
    Cody didn’t touch any leather, but Macy left the shot short.
    â€œClank!” Pork Chop shouted as he grabbed the carom off the side of the rim.
    Pork Chop winked at Cody as he set up on the high post.
    â€œGet me the ball,” he called.
    Goddard swung the ball to Cody on the right wing. Cody immediately bounce-passed to Pork Chop, who backed deliberately toward the hoop, using his ample backside to push Miller, the Central postman, out of his way. Once he had Miller under the basket, Pork Chop stopped, elevated (a good three inches off the floor), and banked in a right-handed shot. The first quarter ended in a 14–14 deadlock.
    The teams traded leads eleven times in the second quarter, with neither able to gain more than a three-point advantage. With one minute to go in the half, Macy came off of a high pick and tried to shake Cody with a series of head fakes, jukes, and jab steps. But Cody kept his center of gravity low and his body square with Macy’s.
    Cody heard Macy swear and then he dribbled to his right and launched an off-balance jumper. Cody leaped with him, straining to block the shot. Cody felt his middle finger brush the ball, but the shot still rattled in.
    â€œNice shot,” Cody said.
    Macy looked at him, suspicion creeping into his eyes. “What?”
    â€œIt was a good shot, that’s all. I did all I could, and you still made it.”
    With that, Cody turned and trotted downcourt.
    Brett Evans missed a runner in the lane. His brother snagged the rebound and cleared the ball to Dylan along the left baseline. Dylan drove to the hoop, but Clay cut him off. As Dylan searched in vain for some help, the halftime buzzer sounded.
    Grant went to the locker room trailing by two, but Cody knew that the Raiders were still very much in the game.
    In the visitors’ locker room, the team sat attentively as Coach Clayton prepared to speak. Alston, who was