After juvenile boys get caught robbing a sporting goods store, reporter Lorelei Kilbourne pleads for leniency in court and her boss and boyfriend, editor Steve Wilson, ends up reluctantly vouching for the boys. He converts an old newspaper building into a recreation center, where he coaches the boys in basketball. Tommy Malone goes for a joy ride in the car of a gangster, Joe Moreley. A business arrangement is struck, where Moreley will stash stolen goods at the rec center while betting on the team's basketball games, which Tommy will deliberately lose.
The other boys try to return some stolen furs, but one of them, Pinky Jones, ends up shot. Tommy tries to end his deal with Moreley, only to be threatened by Cato, the gangster's gunman. Tommy double-crosses the crooks, winning the next game. Cato shoots him. Tommy's friend and teammate "Dum Dum" pursues Moreley in the bleachers, where Moreley falls off. Tommy recovers in the hospital, while Steve and Lorelei end up getting custody of three more delinquent boys.
