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  Lou nodded. “Yeah, that goes for me, too.”

  Andy’s mouth dropped open. “You want to — to thank me?”

  “Right,” Daren replied.

  “That’s about it,” agreed Lou.

  “It’s okay,” said Andy, who still looked very confused. “Urn… I have something to say to you guys, too. I was feeling sort of, well, angry about how nobody ever appreciates the things I do around here and how some of you were always picking on me…”

  “It wasn’t right,” Lou said. “We shouldn’t have done that.”

  “I guess I was the worst one of all,” added Daren. “I won’t do it again.”

  “The thing is,” Andy went on, “about those drawings and the towel and Lou’s shoes being painted. I was feeling angry, I guess, and I was the one who —”

  “Forget it,” Daren interrupted.

  “No big deal,” said Lou.

  “You mean that?” Andy asked. “Really?”

  “Definitely,” Lou replied. Daren nodded.

  “I’ll buy you new shoes,” Andy offered.

  “You don’t have to,” said Lou. “They were pretty old. I can wear them the way they are. Actually, they look cool painted red.”

  “Yeah, they do.” Daren grinned at Lou and turned to Andy. “Where’s that paint? I may paint my shoes red, too.”

  Lou started to laugh, and Daren and Andy joined him. Lynn and Shawn came over.

  “What’s up?” Lynn asked.

  Lou stopped laughing and said, “We were just talking about how the Rebels are going to get totally stomped tomorrow.”

  “Completely,” said Daren.

  Shawn and Lynn exchanged puzzled looks.

  “You know these guys?” Lynn asked.

  “They sort of look familiar,” Shawn answered. “But they sure sound different.”

  14

  On the day of the game between the Rangers and the Rebels, the crowd was the biggest that Daren could remember. As he came out of the locker room into the gym, he was startled by the level of the noise. Although the game wasn’t due to start for a while, almost every seat was full. He saw lots of signs scattered through the stands that said go, rangers! and rebels rule! and similar messages. As he looked around, he happened to spot Judy Parnell, sitting with Gary. Judy noticed him and waved, and then poked Gary in the arm and pointed. Daren smiled and waved back. Gary stood up and yelled something to him, but it was too noisy for Daren to hear. He nodded to Gary anyway.

  The Rangers began their warm-up drills, shooting layups. At the other end of the floor, the Rebels were doing the same thing. Daren looked them over after his first layup. Their uniforms were gray and red, and he watched their big center, Drew Capp, go up and lay the ball in. Capp was a big, strong player. It looked like he’d be able to dunk the ball someday soon. Lou Bettman was definitely going to have his work cut out for him, trying to stop this guy. Of course, the other Rangers would be there to help out.

  Daren would, for sure. This was the new Daren. He hadn’t said a nasty word to anyone and was going out of his way to be friendly. Some of the Rangers had responded immediately and been friendly, too. A few, like Shawn, were still holding back, as if they were waiting for the old Daren to put in an appearance. But so far, it hadn’t happened.

  Over and over during the Rangers’ last practice before this game, Coach Michaels had repeated the same things: “Help each other, especially on defense. Don’t be selfish on offense.” Teamwork: that was the name of the game.

  He had drilled the Rangers in man-to-man defense, where each Ranger guarded one opponent, and zone defense, in which each player was responsible for part of the court. He had them work on what he called their “secret weapon,” a combination of zone and man-to-man in which Lynn guarded Tony Tisdale while the other four Rangers stayed in a zone defense. Everyone had worked hard, and Daren felt that the Rangers were as ready for this game as they could be.

  The coach hadn’t said anything to Daren about his new attitude, but there had been no further talk about benching him, either.

  Coach Michaels hadn’t wasted time talking about the importance of this game. He didn’t have to. All the Rangers knew that, if they lost today, their season would end after the next game; they would not make the league playoffs. But if they won today, they were in.

  Somewhere in the stands, Daren knew, were his parents, although he hadn’t located them yet. His dad had taken off early from work to be here. Most of the Ranger moms and dads were here today, even the ones who, like Mr. McCall, often had to miss games because of work. Lou’s dad was there, though Mrs. Bettman was still in the hospital.

  Daren knew that it would really psych him up, having friends and family in the stands. He hoped that would inspire the rest of the team to play their best, too.

  Of course, he knew that the Rebels also had friends and family out there, which was probably going to inspire them, making the two teams even in that department.

  The buzzer sounded and the teams left the floor to hear final words from their coaches before the opening tip. The Rangers grouped themselves in front of Coach Michaels. The coach had to raise his voice to be heard above the crowd.

  “Remember, I want you to play a running game today. They like to play a half-court game, to walk the ball over the mid-court line and to take it easy getting back on defense. We don’t want to let them do it. I think we can tire these guys out, and that we have a better bench than they do. Without Tisdale or Capp on the court, the Rebels are a different team, so let’s see if we can make those two run out of gas. Look for fast-break opportunities, make them work to get the ball into their offensive zone. And watch me for defensive signals, to know when to switch from man into zone defense. You’ve worked hard for this one, so go out there and earn yourself a spot in the playoffs. Let’s see those hands!”

  The Rangers formed a circle, with all the players’ hands clasped in the middle. The coach put his hand in, too. “Ready to play?”

  “Yeah!” the Rangers shouted, and clapped their hands.

  The Rebels controlled the ball to open the game and got it to Drew Capp. Daren moved in behind him, hands high. Capp faked a shot, then flipped a pass to Tony Tisdale, who threw in a jumper that hit nothing but net.

  As Lynn grabbed the ball to put it in bounds, Daren sprinted downcourt. Lynn’s inbound pass was handled by Lou, who threw it to Daren. The Rebel defense had been caught by surprise, and Daren laid in an easy two-pointer to tie the game. Daren smiled to himself. Tony Tisdale was going to have to do some serious running today to keep up with him.

  The game stayed even for the first several minutes. At one point, the Rebels managed to take a three-point lead, but the Rangers came back and went up by one. Drew Capp scored a few baskets, but Lou scored as well. He threw in two fall-away jumpers that Drew couldn’t block or stop. On Lou’s second basket, Capp fouled him, and Lou sank the free throw.

  With the score tied midway through the first half, Tony Tisdale tried to drive the lane. Daren planted himself in his path, and Tisdale rammed into him.

  “That’s a charge on number twelve, red!” the ref yelled. “White ball!”

  The Rebels raced back on defense. They weren’t going to let themselves give up any fast-break baskets if they could help it. But it looked to Daren as though Drew Capp was already beginning to pant a little.

  He flipped an inbound pass to Lynn, who dribbled the ball over the midcourt line. Frank O’Malley, the Rebel point guard, picked him up. Lynn bounced a pass to Daren, who threw quickly to Peter Stuber, in off the bench. Stuber dribbled behind the key and dropped the ball off to Lynn. Meanwhile, Lou had posted himself just above the foul line.

  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 t
he 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.

  15

  In 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!”

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