Darius checked in at the scorer's table and jogged onto the court, his mind stripped of everything except the sixty-four feet of hardwood in front of him. No bathroom conversations. No disrespect. No names he wasn't called. Just basketball. Just proving what he could do.
Bayview had the ball. Daren brought it up and immediately looked for Darius at the top of the key. The pass came crisp and clean. Darius caught it, and for the first time all day, everything felt right. The leather in his hands. The weight of the ball. The rhythm of his breathing.
Jace picked him up immediately, his stance relaxed but alert. They were about the same height, but Jace had this presence that made him seem bigger somehow. His eyes were locked on Darius's midsection, reading his intentions before they became actions.
Darius dribbled twice, testing. Jace mirrored him perfectly, his feet sliding across the floor with practiced ease. No reaching. No gambling. Just patient, disciplined defense.
Fine. Darius called for a screen from Eli. When it came, he used it aggressively, driving hard to his right. Jace fought through the screen, staying attached, but Darius had created just enough space. He pulled up from fifteen feet.
The shot was good. Clean rotation, perfect arc.
Bayview 17, Riverside 16.
Darius jogged back, his face showing nothing, but inside his chest was pounding. That felt good. That felt right.
Jace brought the ball up, and Darius met him at half court like Coach had instructed. But there was something different in how he pressured. His hands were more active. His stance was more aggressive. He wasn't just defending. He was challenging.
Jace recognized it immediately. His eyebrows raised just slightly, and something that might have been amusement flickered across his face. He dribbled left, then crossed back right, testing Darius's balance. Darius stayed in front, his feet quick, his positioning solid.
Jace drove anyway, exploding toward the baseline with that first-step quickness that had been destroying defenders all tournament. Darius stayed with him, sliding laterally, fighting to stay between Jace and the basket.
Jace rose up for a pull-up jumper, his body twisted slightly to create space. Darius jumped, his hand reaching toward the ball, contesting without fouling.
The shot went in anyway.
Bayview 17, Riverside 18.
Jace jogged back, and this time when he looked at Darius, there was definitely amusement there. Like he'd just realized something interesting was happening and he was curious to see where it went.
Darius brought the ball up, his mind working at maximum speed. He crossed half court and immediately attacked. No screens. No passes. Just him versus Jace, one on one at the top of the key.
He drove right, hard and fast. Jace stayed in front. Darius crossed back left, creating separation with the dribble. Jace recovered. Darius stopped on a dime and rose up for a jumper.
Good.
Bayview 19, Riverside 18.
From the corner, Daren clapped once, but his face showed confusion. Darius had driven right past him. He'd been open. An easy pass, an easy shot. But Darius hadn't even looked.
The game continued, and a pattern started emerging that made Coach Anderson lean forward on the bench.
Jace brought the ball up and ran a pick and roll. Eli stepped up to hedge, and Jace split the defense with a nasty crossover, getting all the way to the rim for a layup.
Bayview 19, Riverside 20.
Darius responded immediately. He pushed the pace, attacked in transition, and pulled up for a three-pointer from the wing. Marcus had been trailing on the break, wide open on the other side. Darius never looked at him.
The shot went in.
Bayview 22, Riverside 20.
Jace came back down and called for an isolation. His teammates cleared out, giving him space to work. He went at Darius, using a series of hesitation dribbles that would've frozen most defenders. Darius stayed low, staying in front through sheer determination.
Jace finally pulled up from three-point range, and even though Darius's hand was in his face, the shot went through.
Bayview 22, Riverside 23.
The crowd was going absolutely crazy now. They'd come to watch Jace Carter put on a show, but they were getting something even better. A genuine battle. A back and forth between two players who refused to back down.
Darius brought the ball up, and this time when he attacked, there was no hesitation at all. He drove left, Jace stayed with him, Darius crossed back right and rose up from eighteen feet.
Swish.
Bayview 24, Riverside 23.
Jace's expression had changed now. The amusement was still there, but it was mixed with something else. Focus. Competition. Like he'd found a challenge he wasn't expecting and was genuinely enjoying it.
He brought the ball up and immediately went to work. Crossover, between the legs, step-back. Darius was right there with him, contesting, fighting, refusing to give an inch of easy space.
Jace rose up and shot from twenty-five feet out.
Nothing but net.
Bayview 24, Riverside 26.
Back and forth they went, possession after possession, shot after shot. Sometimes Darius scored. Sometimes Jace scored. Sometimes they missed, but more often than not, they made their shots.
The rest of the players on the court were almost afterthoughts now. This had become something else entirely. A personal duel playing out in the middle of a team game.
With two minutes left in the first quarter, Jace did something that made the entire arena gasp. He drove baseline, jumped like he was going for a layup, then somehow contorted his body in mid-air to avoid Eli's contest and release a shot that had no business going in.
It went in.
Bayview 28, Riverside 32.
Jace landed and jogged back, and when he looked at Darius, he was definitely smiling now. Not mocking. Not arrogant. Just appreciative. Like he was saying "that was fun, let's keep going."
Darius brought the ball up, his chest heaving, sweat already soaking through his jersey. His mind was completely locked in now, tunnel vision to the point where he barely registered his teammates' positions.
Daren came off a screen on the left side, his hand up, calling for the ball. He was wide open. An easy pass for an easy bucket.
Darius drove right instead, pulling up for a contested mid-range jumper over Jace's outstretched hand.
Miss.
The ball clanged off the rim and Riverside grabbed the rebound.
As both teams ran back on defense, Daren jogged next to Darius, his face showing frustration. "Yo, D, I was open."
"I got it," Darius said, his eyes already tracking Jace as he brought the ball up.
"Nah, man, you didn't get it. You missed. And I was wide open."
"I said I got it."
Daren's jaw tightened, but he didn't push it. Not yet. He just ran back to his position, that feeling in his gut getting stronger that something was off with his teammate.
On the bench, Coach Anderson turned to Assistant Coach George. "You see what I'm seeing?"
"Darius is playing hero ball," George said quietly. "He's completely locked in on Jace. Not seeing anybody else."
"He's playing angry," Anderson observed, his eyes never leaving the court. "Something's bothering him."
Malik sat a few seats down, watching his cousin with growing concern. He'd seen Darius play intense basketball before, but this was different. This wasn't just intensity. This was something personal. Something that had nothing to do with team basketball and everything to do with proving a point that only Darius could see.
The first quarter ended with Riverside up 36-32. Jace had eighteen points on 7/10 shooting. Darius had twelve points on 5/8 shooting. The rest of the Bayview offense had combined for twenty points.
As the teams walked to their benches, Daren caught up to Darius and grabbed his shoulder, forcing him to stop and look at him.
"D, we need to talk."
"Not now."
"Yeah, now." Daren's voice was firm, the captain voice he used when he needed teammates to listen. "You're playing like it's just you and Jace out there. We're a team. We win as a team."
"I know that."
"Do you? Because you've ignored three open shots for your teammates in the last five minutes. You're taking contested shots when we have easy ones available."
Darius pulled his shoulder free from Daren's grip. "I'm scoring, aren't I?"
"That's not the point. Basketball isn't one-on-one. We need—"
"I said I know." Darius's voice had an edge to it that made Daren take a step back. "Just let me play my game."
He walked to the bench before Daren could respond, leaving his captain standing there looking equal parts frustrated and concerned.
Eli had watched the whole exchange. He didn't say anything, just filed it away in that quiet way he processed everything. Something was definitely wrong with Darius. The question was whether it would blow up the team chemistry or somehow push them to play harder.
Marcus sat down next to Malik on the bench. "Your cousin good?"
"I don't know, man," Malik said honestly. "Something happened before the game. He won't tell me what."
Coach Anderson called the team in for the quarter break huddle. "Good first quarter. We're down four, but we're right in this game. Defense needs to tighten up on the weak side. Offense needs better ball movement."
He looked directly at Darius when he said that last part. Darius looked back, his face giving away nothing, but Coach could see it in his eyes. Whatever was driving him right now wasn't about following the game plan. It was about something else entirely.
"Darius," Coach said carefully. "You're playing well. But remember, we're strongest when we play together. Use your teammates."
"I will, Coach."
But the way he said it, flat and automatic, made it clear he wasn't really hearing the message.
The second quarter was about to start. Darius stood up, ready to check back in, his eyes already finding Jace on the other side of the court.
Jace was talking to Terrell, saying something that made his teammate laugh. Then Jace glanced over at Darius, and their eyes met across the court.
Jace nodded once. Not a challenge. Just acknowledgment. Like he was saying "round two, let's go."
Darius didn't nod back. He just stared, his jaw set, his mind already running through what he'd do differently this quarter.