Cantaloupe Look to Carve out Playoff Spot After Gritty Week 7 Win

The Cantaloupe got back in the win column last Tuesday, and even though the 53-40 win over the Fat Dads looks like a blowout on paper, the Cantaloupe had to put in a little extra elbow grease in this one. The offense got off to a quick start for a change after a couple of nice takes by Lou and some 3’s from Ryan, but the Fat Dads weren’t afraid to throw their weight around and managed to keep things close, especially when the Cantaloupe found themselves in foul trouble early on. With bodies banging in the paint, it was only a matter of time before the shit talking started, and once it did, there was no going back. Less than five minutes in, Kev and Chris were already jawing back and forth with the opposition. Naturally, Stache wasn’t going to let this go unnoticed and was happy to start handing out double techs throughout the night. The Fat Dads made the most of their chances at the line, but it was clear that they were outgunned and outmatched. The Cantaloupe led 26-19 at the half and with only 6 players available, fatigue was clearly setting in for the Fat Dads. The Cantaloupe came out swinging in the second and managed to blow the game wide open, extending their lead to double digits where it would stay for the rest of the game. Down but not out though, the Fat Dads stuck to their shit talking until the very end, complaining about calls, intentionally fouling or creating contact where they could, even arguing with the fans in the stands at one point. Alas, as the final seconds ticked down their fate was sealed and even though the Fat Dads didn’t want to accept it, trailing by 13 with just under 20 seconds left on the clock, Pendry gave them no choice as he drove home the final dagger with his first 3 of the year as the Cantaloupe crowd erupted. Ryan and Lou carried the bulk of the offense with 22 and 12 respectively but it was a welcome sign for Cantaloupe fans to see Nick get back in the scoring mix. After struggling to find his stroke from beyond the arc this season, and just one week after a 0-point performance in a loss to the Hold’Em Hillbillies, the older Welsh bro turned in 11 points, 1 assist, 3 rebounds, and a steal while going 3/8 from 3-point range. Not quite the 66.7% Ryan shot from 3 last week but still a hopeful sign of things to come. Ryan also threw in a season-high 3 assists and 1 rebound while Lou continued to make his case as the best rebounding PG in the league hauling in 5 boards along with 5 assists, and 2 steals to go with. Mikey G would lead the team in rebounds though with 6 along with 3 points, 2 steals, and a block while Pendry notched his first points of the season with an electric three and even added in a rebound to go with. Chris went 1-3 from the free throw line for his only point of the night but still found a way to make an impact once again filling the stat sheet with 2 assists, 5 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 huge blocks, and just one turnover. Meanwhile, with just 2 rebounds and 2 big blocks on his stat sheet, Coach O'Neill made the completely unbiased decision to send himself to the line to take 2 technical free throws of which he made just one for his only point of the night. Anthony and Kev struggled to get good looks as they spent most of the night fighting in the paint and both finished with 0 points though they would combine for 1 assist, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 “you’re a bitch, dude”’s directed towards the Fat Dads (we’ll let you guess who contributed the bulk of those). The Cantaloupe are back tomorrow night with what looks to be their toughest test of the season as they square off against the 6-1 Malice at the Palace. Currently, the #1 seed, Malice is averaging just under 50 ppg while allowing just 33 ppg to opponents. With just two weeks left in the regular season, here’s how things are shaping up: 1.) Malice at the Palace (6-1) 2.) Certified Buckets (5-2) 3.) The Rimshots (5-1) 4.) Hold’Em Hillbillies (4-3) 5.) The Fighting Cantaloupe (4-2) 6.) Law of Averages (3-4) 7.) The Fat Dads (2-5) 8.) Ballhogz (2-4) 9.) The Process (0-7) Week 8 action is set to tip-off tomorrow night @ 6:30 pm, Total Turf Court 5, we look forward to seeing another sold-out crowd!

Written by: Jonathan Abbott

August 15, 2022