QUINCY, Ill. — Blake Pingeton hadn’t crossed half court, and Modesto Christian assistant coach Chris Teevan’s had already started to wince.
He knew a familiar sequence would unspool: Father Tolton’s Aaron Rowe pushing the ball up the floor, drawing in a couple of defenders, casually pitching a kick out backward to Pingeton, who would step into an open 3-pointer. It had already unfolded twice, and sure enough, the sequence repeated with 3:04 left in the third quarter.
Teevan tilted his head back gently and huffed. Then, he called timeout. You didn’t have to strain inside the modestly filled Blue Devil Gym to hear the resigned dismay from his huddle.