Robin texts Samuel all the next day, so he spends his day at the gym and decides to sleep there, too. The team loses all three games in New York, and Derell Compton, dissatisfied with his playing time, quits the team, leaving them with eight active players. The team returns home, and Murray is devastated when Robin leaves him for another man.

When the season restarts, Murray has a breakout game and earns a starting role on the team going forward. They win two games before losing to Florida A&M, a team that was picked to be top of the conference in the preseason. Four players (including Samuel) catch the flu on the flight home, and the decimated team loses another two games while everyone recovers. The team is now 6-13. Lonnie stops dreaming of getting promoted to a bigger school and begins worrying about keeping the job he has.

A week later, Samuel has finally recovered from the flu and is back in the gym. Lonnie approaches him with the prospect of playing in their next game because they desperately need help. Samuel is ecstatic and practices with more determination than ever. Their opponent is Maryland Eastern Shore, and the game begins evenly matched.