Chapter 430 - End of Time at the University 2 (1/2)
In another attack by the Kentucky Wildcats team after a good move the ball was left for Turner, Turner held the ball and Williams soon came on the defense, so Turner passed the ball to Sheppard who was free in the middle.
When Sheppard received the ball Jake who was nearby was prepared, Sheppard saw that he was free and tried the shot from outside because he had already scored 6 points in three-point shots in that game, but this time Jake approached quickly and made the block rejecting the shot.
Sheppard and the other players on the Kentucky Wildcats team did not expect this, but Williams who took the remaining ball was waiting for it and soon started the counter-attack for the Tar Heels team.
Williams slowly advanced the ball so that his teammates could move forward, before reaching the three-point line Williams passed the ball to Jake who was in the middle, Jake took the ball and made a high pass.
Carter took the ball high and made a dunk to complete the alley-oop and make 2 more points for the Tar Heels team, the players of the Kentucky Wildcats team did not expect this and so the Tar Heels team further increased the lead on the scoreboard.
The game continued like this and the Tar Heels team ended the 1st half by winning the game with a good advantage, little by little the Tar Heels team was controlling the game and the players of the Kentucky Wildcats team were getting more anxious.
In this 1st half of the game Jake played for 20 minutes and made 19 points, 8 assists, 6 rebounds, 3 steals, and 2 blocks, Jake was playing very well and his teammates were playing too, so he had more freedom in attack and after the middle of the 1st half, he can better help the team defensively.
”And so the 1st half of the game ends, the Tar Heels team is winning the game in the final of the NCAA tournament that started very much between the teams, the players of the Tar Heels team and the Kentucky Wildcats team are playing very well and so the game it is very exciting and with many points.”
”But after half of the 1st half of the game, Jake started to play better in defense and with the Tar Heels team dominating most of the game's rebounds they managed to increase the lead on the scoreboard.”
”The Kentucky Wildcats team is still able to attack well with Mohammed because N'Diaye is not able to defend very well against him, but N'Diaye still helps in disrupting Mohammed's attacks in the game, that's one of the problems with the Tar Heels team not having one good Center on the team.”
”But with Jake and Williams hitting so many three-point shots for the Tar Heels team that advantage will only increase, so the Kentucky Wildcats team will have to defend better to be able to hold off the Tar Heels attack.”
”For the time being, the Tar Heels team is winning this game and is closer to winning the NCAA tournament this season for the second year in a row, let's see if the Kentucky Wildcats team gets a reaction.”
Just as commentators said the Tar Heels team was winning the game, Coach Guthridge was very pleased with the players and praised Jake for his good defense and praised Jamison who had more rebounds in the game.
If the game continued as it was with the Tar Heels players having a good performance, they would win the NCAA tournament again, on the other side, the Kentucky Wildcats' coach Tubby Smith was worried about the game.
He had to ask the players to increase the pressure on the defense and try to press more against Jake and Williams and also within the three-point line, that was difficult for the Kentucky Wildcats team and the players would get more tired doing this, but he was the only one way to achieve victory.
Jake's family and friends were rooting for him in the stands and everyone could feel that the Tar Heels team would win this game, the crowd at the Alamodome was greater for the Tar Heels team because of the team's record of victories and the greater coverage of the media.
Eva and Kate were still nervous because they really wanted Jake's team to win this game and knew that Jake would be very sad if he lost that game, Jerry West who was watching this game with David Falk was very pleased with Jake's performance and had high hopes for him on the Lakers' team if all went well.
The Kentucky Wildcats team returned for the 2nd half of the game by pressing in attack and defense, the players were tired after the semifinal game and also because of the pressure.
The Tar Heels team had to defend better in the 2nd half, but the players were less tired because Jake knew how to control the team's pace of play so the players wouldn't get tired that much, but the pressure was the same for both teams.
The Kentucky Wildcats team went on the attack and Turner received the ball and soon received pressure from the Tar Heels team and Williams came to defend against him, so Turner had to pass the ball to Sheppard who was free in the middle.