Li Ao's two mid-range shots were quite solid.
Not only was it unexpected by the Cardinals, but it was also a surprise for the Trojans.
After a long Christmas holiday, the coaching staff and teammates all knew that Li Ao's CIC had made great progress, but they didn't expect it to be so big!
Trey Pagannier: Damn it, how come his mid-range shot is almost as accurate as mine?
Moreover, Li Ao has a better height and wingspan, and with the same bounce, Tre Paganier feels that he may not necessarily be able to do better than Li Ao when he catches the ball and shoots open shots.
When he catches the ball and wants to shoot, someone must make up for it. In contrast, Li Ao's size advantage is reflected at this time.
After Li Ao scored two mid-range shots, the Cardinals were forced to change their defense and focus on Li Ao.
Although the Cardinals' zone defense is still doing a good job, the offensive conditions of Granville and Trey Pagnier are obviously much better.
As for Brusenthal, there is really nothing you can do when meeting Mark Madsen and Jason Collins.
With Li Ao's mid-range shot in check, the Trojans stabilized their position in the last few minutes of the first half and the first few minutes of the second half, preventing the Cardinals, who were playing defensive counterattack, from quickly approaching the score.
This gave White Mamba and Shelby Jordan, as well as Granville, who was replaced by Nate Hale at the beginning of the second half, ample rest time.
At 7 minutes and 22 seconds into the second half, Li Ao, who had played for 20 consecutive minutes, was replaced.
At this time, the score was 40 to 33, and the Trojans still maintained a 7-point lead.
The Cardinals went on a 14-10 run in the past nine minutes and were unable to really close the gap.
After Glanville, Shelby Jordan, and White Mamba returned to the field, coupled with Nate Hale and Charles, the Cardinals no longer had the advantage. Even if Jacobson, who returned to the field, performed well, he could only Being able to have a back-and-forth game with the Trojans.
After Li Ao drank a glass of energy drink, he put his head on his hips and took a breather.
The middle-aged handsome man is not a human being! He played for 20 minutes straight!
Fortunately, he held on and didn't lose the chain.
And the data is pretty good!
After 2-for-2, the CIC went 2-for-4. In these 4 shots, 2 were open and 2 took the pot.
He didn't take the initiative to ask his teammates to play for him at all. He just acted as a role player, running to support him and supporting him when there was an opportunity. He focused on defense.
Unfortunately, two close shots were interfered by Mark Madsen and Jason Collins respectively. The shooting rate dropped to 4 of 8, and he put his schoolbag on his back.
When he plays like this, it doesn't matter if the Cardinals guard him on defense, and it doesn't matter if they don't guard him.
Before the end of the first half, he stole Mendes. Mendes fouled when he counterattacked. The Cardinals' foul rate was very high. It had already reached the 1+1 stage. He went to the free throw line and got the ball. Two points.
Scored 10 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists and 1 steal in 20 minutes, scoring in double figures for the second time in his college career!
His style of play has not changed, he is still using the style of play that he is used to and that his teammates are also used to, but his ability to support this style of play has become stronger. While bringing more help to his teammates, he will not make them feel uncomfortable.
After calming down, Li Ao sat down and watched his teammates perform.
Without wasting the advantage he and his teammates had worked hard to maintain, Granville organized the offense and White Mamba took the lead. The offense was vigorous and the Cardinals' tough defense did not let the Cardinals try to make a comeback.
At 13 minutes and 37 seconds of the second half, the score reached 52-46, and the Trojans still maintained a 6-point lead.
The Cardinals fought back fiercely and only narrowed the gap by 1 point!
Entering the timeout again, Henry Bibby replaced the combination of Granville, Trey Paganier, Li Ao, White Mamba, and Brusenthal. With less than 6 and a half minutes left, he did not change into the defensive lineup. Fight to death.
As he expected, the Cardinals replaced the five-man team of David Mosley, Kyle Rogan, Mendes, Mark Madsen, and Jason Collins at this time.
It's too easy to guess, and he will defend and counterattack if he is in trouble.
This is the Cardinals' identity, strength...and flaw.
Lack of strong offensive ability, he will defend and counterattack when encountering problems.
It's just that their lineup is really good at defense, and it works many times.
But once they lose control, there's nothing the Cardinals can do.
If Henry Bibby plays conservatively and plays defense at this time, it will basically be over. The game is at this point. Defense is the main theme of this game. The offensive players consume a lot of money. If they play defense at critical moments, the Cardinals will have a huge advantage.
At this time, he chose to ensure offensive efficiency. Although the offensive performance was average in the last few minutes, it effectively reduced the number of successful defensive counterattacks by the Cardinals!
At 19 minutes and 49 seconds into the second half of the game, Li Ao caught the ball at a high position and attracted defense from the flank. White Mamba used Kyle Logan to block the chasing Mark Madsen and ran to the left corner. Li Ao lifted the ball. I threw it away and had no luck at all.
White Mamba caught the ball and shot a three-pointer...hit!
Henry Bibby looked at the remaining time and nodded, this time he was right.
He put his hands in his pockets.
The game is won!
With 8 seconds left and a 4-point difference, what should the opponent do to chase him!
Kyle Logan went straight to the frontcourt to catch the ball and missed a long three-point shot. Li Ao, who rushed back, grabbed the defensive rebound and dribbled for a few seconds, increasing the dribbling time tonight to 11 seconds. The final buzzer sounded. Ring on time.
62 to 58, the Trojans held on to their advantage in the last few minutes and narrowly defeated the Cardinals by 4 points!
Bai Mamba scored 22 points, Li Ao made 4 of 7 shots and 3 of 4 free throws to score 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, Granville had 7 points and 7 assists, Charles had 4 points and 16 rebounds, and Shelby Jordan 2 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 2 blocks... The whole team worked together to win 9 consecutive victories!
"Make the Trojans great!"
"Make the Trojans great!"
"Make the Trojans great!"
The fans at the scene shouted in unison, deafening!
When Li Ao spent the last few seconds dribbling, the Trojans players and coaches all rushed into the court and roared along with the fans.
Li Ao was also inspired by this atmosphere. Together with his teammates and fans at the scene, he waved his fists and shouted, "Make the Trojans great!"
But when he saw a close-up of him on the big screen, he felt cold.
Isn’t it pretty? There’s another secondary scene...
He really wanted to stop this shameful middle school shouting, but the atmosphere had reached this point, and he had to finish shouting with tears in his eyes...
…
"The biggest dark horse this season, the Trojans maintained the top spot in the Pac-10 Conference. For the first time in team history, they defeated all opponents in the division and became the favorite team to book a tournament spot..."
Lying on the sofa in his small suite, Li Ao watched the late-night sports news... They were popular!
It’s really popular!
He enjoys this feeling, the fans are excited and happy, and he wants to protect it.
But die-hard fans are so excited that he sometimes gets a headache.
No, he couldn't even watch the news on the big TV at the hospital assistant's aunt's house this time.
After the hospital assistant came home, she actually opened a bottle of wine. At first, she said that he was a child and could not drink. After drinking half the bottle, he began to burp and then tried to force him to drink. Fortunately, he managed to escape.
Otherwise you'll have another hangover!
He remembered the dark history when he first crossed over, and there was a shadow.
The hospital assistant and aunt were so high that he estimated that many people would die in those bars and nightclubs tonight.
But the 9-game winning streak brings not only joy, but also pressure...and ambition!
"Congratulations to the host for helping the team achieve its first 9 consecutive victories and completing the first division clearance in team history. 2,000 achievement points will be awarded."
Adding in 170 achievement points of 11 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 block, his achievement points reached 2950 points, finally returning to a value that made him feel 'safe'.
At the turn of the millennium, he began to think about things after the season.
Even if we reach the finals, the season will end in early April.
After nearly 8 months, I will definitely have to train.
Whether it is training tasks or physical therapy functions, achievement points are required. One day is not much, but one month, half a year... you have to start 'saving money'.
These two functions are very important for him to maintain training efficiency.
The two missions that started after the game against the Cardinals came just in time!
"The dark horse rushes:
Goal: The host needs to continue to help the team achieve a winning streak.
Reward: The final winning streak is multiplied by 500 achievement points (including the current winning streak). "
"Double kill:
Goal: Defeat opponents in the division again and complete the season double play.
Reward: Each time a double kill is completed, 500 achievement points will be awarded. "
He was already eager to continue his winning streak, and they had already defeated these opponents once, so they were confident.
These two tasks filled him with the desire to win.
And he has no pressure. He has won 9 consecutive games in the beginning, and is 100% locked in the 'competition spot'. After a total defeat, he has 9 wins and 9 losses, so he is safe in the competition for spots.
The mission "Dark Horse Rush" also has a guaranteed achievement point of 4,500.
It would be best if the winning streak can be longer. If not... just start again.
As for the winning streak or something like that, he wouldn't even dream about it.
The NCAA has had a season of undefeated victories, more than once, and the team that has done so the most times is the Bruins.
The middle-aged handsome man of their Trojans team has done it twice. He won championships throughout college. The middle-aged handsome man started to be the captain after coming off the bench in his freshman year. He assisted Bill Walton to complete the 88-game winning streak. Achievements, only lost 3 games in the entire four years of college.
In the NBA, the middle-aged handsome man's entire career is not as good as his son's performance in one season, but in the NCAA, he is a legendary captain.
…
On January 10th, the University of Southern California started school.
At 8 o'clock in the morning, Li Ao drove with a black head and went to school with the hospital assistant's aunt who said pitifully that she had a headache.
When they arrived at the parking lot, Vivian continued to act coquettishly: "Leo, Auntie loves you the most, so just do me this favor."
"...Aunt Vivian, I'm a little sick."
"Can you help me?"
Vivian suddenly changed her face, making Li Ao wonder if she had Sichuan ancestry.
He immediately said: "Okay, okay, I also said that I would go to the library to read for a while. Okay, I'll go!"
Vivian's face changed again, and she returned to her pitiful and cute look: "Yeah, um, aunt is feeling very uncomfortable now. I need to catch up on my sleep. I'll leave the morning work to you."
"Okay, have a good rest, lock the car door, and pull down the sun visor and everything else. A beautiful female teacher like you is very dangerous in school..."
Vivian cheered, and the sun visor... wasn't called a sun visor anymore, a board directly blocked the windshield, and the sound of locking the door could be heard as fast as possible.
Li Ao, who had just gotten off the bus, was holding a worksheet, and the black lines on his head were even denser.
This hospital assistant aunt, even if she skips work, no one will say she is not a good person.
Forget it, school starts today. There are no classes in the morning. He is busy with the opening ceremony in the afternoon. He doesn’t have any performances to do. He originally planned to go to the library. He hasn’t recharged his batteries for a while. Now he can help with some school work. Quite interesting.
But working for free is a good thing that you can’t keep to yourself.
After a while, there was another person beside Li Ao.
Liam wanted to escape, but was grabbed by Li Ao's big hand and couldn't break free.
"It's your house assistant who wants you to help with work, and I'm not familiar with her. Why do you want me to come here?"
"You and Vivian have known each other longer than me, right?"
"She and I just know each other, but her family has almost become your family! You got her drunk and crazy, and now she's hungover and can't work. What does it have to do with me?"
"The workplace is at the film school."
"..." Liam's struggling movements stopped instantly, "I have met Vivian at a dinner party when I was in junior high school. We have known each other for so many years. We are not relatives more than relatives. I must help her, otherwise it will be too much. I'm here...just wait for me and I'll borrow a car."
Li Ao asked doubtfully: "You didn't drive here?"
"No, I'm driving mine and you're driving another car. If you take my passenger seat, where will the others sit?"
"..."
