Rhodes and Carson Part Un

January 10, 2006. Mesa Jr. vs. Rhodes.

This game was the first of 10 in our division or region or whatever. We found out quickly they are the best team in our division or region or whatever.

16-8 after one quarter. 31-14 at half. 50-35 after three. 69-46 final.

I got in to play in the fourth quarter. I remember I was fighting for a rebound and got pushed out of bounds with the ball. I heard the whistle and thought it was just an out of bounds call. Little did I know they were waiting for me to get to the free throw line. I was shocked. All the starters on the bench were yelling at me to make sure I didn't airball it and stuff. It was a one-and-one situation, so I had to make the first one to earn a second. I went through my dribbling and breathing routine that I had practiced all season. And I bounced it off the back of the rim. Still, I can say I only missed one free throw all season.

As we left Rhodes, we were a 1-9 team. However, we felt like we played well against them. Well enough to beat them next time. We were confident.

January 13, 2006. Mesa Jr. vs. Carson.

This is a game we should've absolutely won. It was tied at 9 after the first quarter. We were up 17-14 at half. McEvers seemed especially emotional during this game.

I got about 20 seconds of action during the third quarter because McEvers was so mad at one of the other guys. Then I took an ill-advised shot and found my chair still warm from when I had left it.

Tied at 25 after three, we lost 41-35. 6 for 23 on free throws. That's a solid 26%. That's what McEvers pointed to afterward. That and foul trouble. Two things our team wasn't able to solve all year.