There were only two minutes left in the game. Noah would only have a single chance to defend Leeroy, and he had to get a stop no matter what.
He technically had all the team's points, but Josh and McCain weren't even really looking to score. He scored eleven points while Leeroy had scored six and Derick had scored four.
11-10
Time was running down. If Leeroy scored here, they would win.
It was strange considering that Noah had made three three-point shots.
But Josh had been incredibly passive, passing out to the tryouts instead of scoring. While on the other team, Derick only used the tryouts for screens and occasional kick outs.
As the other team came down the court, they immediately noticed something. Josh and Noah had switched places.
Noah was going to try and defend Leeroy for the last shot.
Derick's nose wrinkled, slightly irritated by the tryout's pride, but more annoyed by Josh's decision to just give up guarding Leeroy.
Leeroy didn't seem insulted or surprised by the switch; instead, a bright smile lit up his rough face. He immediately got down to posting up Noah on the baseline.
"You're about to get cooked, dumbo. Any last words?"
"I'm still in shock that you can speak," Noah murmured. "With how brainless you are."
Leeroy glared back at him, receiving the ball, and protecting it as Noah reached continuously.
Meanwhile, he combed through Neil's memories for tips on how to guard post-ups. He was as tall as Leeroy and even stronger, but he still lacked fundamentals.
Leeroy pounded the ball down, pressed his shoulder into Noah's chest, and forced him backward. But Noah didn't give way, properly planting his feet and absorbing the contact like it was nothing.
He reached with his left hand for the ball and angled his feet properly; he was going to force Leeroy to go towards the baseline where he would meet McCain if he tried attacking.
Leeroy's expression grew confused. This wasn't the Noah he knew. The Noah he knew was weak-willed and hated conflict. And the Noah he knew definitely wasn't strong enough to make him feel like he was pushing against a wall.
The two of them were stalemated there, Leeroy protecting the ball well, and Noah not even moving much.
But Noah wasn't in a rush; he was up, and the time was counting down. He didn't try anything crazy and just reached in to make Leeroy pull back.
Everyone in the gym watched on in a mix of awe and disbelief. They had all laughed at Noah for coming late before, but now he was holding down the team both defensively and offensively.
The starters already on the team knew how impressive this was, though.
Noah wasn't even budging under Leeroy's force, and that was enough to push almost all of them back.
Leeroy's physical strength and balance had always been extremely impressive.
Coach Lester was even more impressed—not only at the strength, but more importantly at the confidence.
This was a tryout that flunked out last year, going head to head with a starter in the last seconds of the game.
Noah knew that if Leeroy made this basket, they would lose and still chose to switch.
Most tryouts would worry about how it would look to the coach and the teammates. No one wanted that kind of responsibility.
Hell, after scoring all twelve of the team's points, tryouts wouldn't even care about losing and would just be satisfied.
Lester nodded; he hadn't been impressed before, but now he was interested in the kid.
After a few seconds of their stalemate, Leeroy cursed under his breath and finally did the spin move, but he didn't try to drive to the basket like Noah had anticipated.
Instead, he stepped back and picked up the ball for a shot.
It's too close, he could make that.
Noah ran for the block, but it was a fake.
Leeroy performed a step-through and loaded up for a floater.
McCain left his position without hesitation, covering for Noah. He expected Leeroy to pass to Derick, who would be cutting towards the basket for a dunk.
But there was nothing he could do; basketball was a game of respect, and he respected Leeroy's floater.
In the back of his mind, McCain hoped Josh would foul Derick, but he doubted it.
Leeroy slipped the pass to Derick immediately, who caught it and took two steps before taking off.
On Derick's right was Josh, who didn't want to foul, and on his left was Noah running back to contest.
But Derick wasn't a bitch.
If Noah jumped with him, then he would take the tryout to the poster, no matter how athletic he was.
Noah wasn't even thinking about his feud with Leeroy anymore; now all that was on his mind was winning the game.
His legs drove him towards the basket in seconds. He didn't have much time to jump off two feet, so he took off one.
This way, he would get behind Derick for the block and not hit him in the air for a foul, but he had to get there before the senior dunked it.
He let out a groan and swung his hand towards the ball as hard as he could. Derick held the ball with two hands for maximum security.
He saw Noah behind him but didn't expect the boy was strong enough to remove his grip from the ball.
Noah rose over Derick in an awe-inspiring display of vertical talent and slapped the ball accurately through the senior's two hands.
BANG!
The ball shot free of Derick's grip and slammed on the floor from the force of the block.
McCain, a bit shocked, still had the clarity of mind to rebound the ball and hold onto it as the seconds ticked by.
Leeroy tried fouling him, but McCain quickly released the ball to Josh and stepped out of bounds.
One of the freshmen tryouts tried rushing Josh for the ball but got crossed so hard he tripped over his own feet.
Josh just bounced the ball, waiting as the final seconds passed. Finally Coach Lester's whistle sounded.
Seb roared and jumped on Noah's back. The other tryout jumped too, punching Noah's chest.
McCain walked onto the court and held out a hand, grinning for the first time today. "Put it there, lil bro, you're tough, I have to admit."
Noah shook him and the rest of their teammates. Even Josh offered him a short nod and a small smile. Derick clapped him on the back, drawing his attention.
"Nice block, tryout," Derick said with a grin. "Look forward to having you on my side. And don't think I'll forget that; I'm coming for you."
Noah shook him too, then he searched the floor for Leeroy. The boy had already walked off court and was complaining about how Noah actually fouled Derick, but coach is just going to let the tryout shine.
Coach Lester blew his whistle, drawing all the attention in the gym.
"Next match, let's go. I'll announce the new team members at the end. So save your chatter for then."