Blazers have a common
goal
By Kim Brewer
Staff Writer
The North Lake Blazers started a fire in the
Lions’ den last Wednesday at Mountain View
College.
The electrically charged air smelled of sweat
and hung heavily as the Blazers took on Mountain
View College in a gymnasium packed with Lion fans.
The energy in the bleachers was fierce.
As I settled into my seat, the excitement from
the crowd began to overtake me. In order to win
this game, the Blazers would need to maintain
their focus in the face of an intimidating home
team crowd, and they did it beautifully.
The Blazers once again dominated the basketball
court, bringing the team to an overall record
of 12 wins and 9 losses.
Aaron Smith, a sophomore from Mansfield, led
the team in scoring, ending up with 25 points
out of the final 90-point game.
In a post-game interview with Smith’s mother,
she said, “I quit counting after 22 points.”
When Smith was asked how many points he had scored,
he said that he did not remember.
It looks as though these gentlemen are learning
to forget their own game and remember the team.
In a game marked by fouls and trips up to the
free-throw line, the Blazer’s concentration
level was truly challenged by the mass of rowdy
Lion ‘s fans. In one particular instance,
Smith took aim at the free-throw line and released
a beautifully arched ball as one front-row Lion’s
fan exclaimed loudly, “What’s up boy!”
The initial response of Smith was the ?swish’
of the net as his ball made its way through. Smith
looked immediately at the taunting fan and retorted,
“What’s up?”
The level of calm displayed by Smith throughout
the entire interaction is a perfect example of
the finely tuned focus with which the teams plays.
The next top scorer of the evening was Kenneth
Cage, a sophomore from Houston. Cage brought home
15 points, two of which were guided into the net
by his powerful hand in an extraordinary slam
dunk.
Eric Villereal, Michael Smith and Kevin Amend
all contributed greatly to the evening’s
victory, scoring 14 points each. The Blazers’
front men brought the crowd to life by the display
of their amazing stamina and power in controlling
the ball.
Throughout the evening, many impressive plays
and maneuvers were witnessed. Each player was
aggressive on defense and quick to rebound. When
watching the ball travel from player to player
around the court, one could not help but wonder
if these young players could read each other’s
minds.
As Coach Tim McGraw told me, “One of the
great things about our team is that we have a
lot of guys who can contribute. So, our team is
not just carried by one person. When we play as
a team, we are very good. Sometimes we forget
that.”
These young men are playing basketball six days
out of the week, in either game or practice form,
sometimes traveling all over the country. The
players must maintain a certain grade point average
and be enrolled in at least 12 semester hours
in order to participate on the North Lake College
basketball team.
Their motivation and dedication resonates out
into the stands. Even for those with little interest
in sports, the excitement would be hard to resist.
Prepare to be dazzled because these men put on
one heck of a show.
The Blazers will face Richland here at NLC on
Feb. 5 at 2 p.m.
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