Cantaloupe Put League on Notice, Take Down the 1 Seed

The Fighting Cantaloupe picked up a statement win last Tuesday as they defeated the #1 seeded Malice at the Palace in dare I say, somewhat dominant fashion. Despite a slow start that saw them down 6-2 in the opening minutes, the Cantaloupe rallied behind a massive first half from Kev. Locked in a defensive battle with the division leaders, the Cantaloupe entered halftime tied at 17 after a clutch step-back 3 from Ryan Deal with less than a minute remaining. The tension in the gym was palpable at the break, and the second half started with more of the same. Both teams struggling to get clean looks kept things close for a few minutes, but once Ryan finally got on the board at the 17:15 mark to tie things up at 22, the Cantaloupe offense never looked back.

The ‘loupe went on a nice run capped off by yet another Kev 3-pointer as they now led 30-22 with 13:30 to go, but Malice’s defense stayed tight and the looks were not coming easy. A few minutes ticked by with neither team being able to score until Ryan Welsh converted a massive and-1 opportunity to push the lead to double digits as the Cantaloupe found themselves up 33-22 with 9:36 remaining. By the time the 5:00 mark rolled around, the Cantaloupe lead was still at double digits, now leading 36-26, but the urgency for Malice at the Palace had finally set in as they stepped up their defense to a whole other level immediately forcing a turnover and cutting the lead to single digits. Little did they know, Lou, who had shown up late was finally ready to put his stamp on this game with one of the more impressive takes we’ve seen in the Tuesday/Thursday league this season. With 2:00 left on the clock and the Cantaloupe still stuck at 36, Lou drove to the lane right into discount Bam Adebayo (the tallest player on the court by a considerable margin), and in a flash, spun with the contact putting up an over the shoulder almost blind shot that kissed ever so gently off the top of the backboard and straight into the net as the lead was back to double digits. The 1 seed made one last push, but the Cantaloupe kept them at arm's length as the lead stayed around 10 for the remainder of the game. Malice hit a couple of late jumpers to cut the deficit to 8, but they wouldn’t get any closer as the final buzzer sounded, the Cantaloupe taking this one by a score of 48-40.

A massive win for the Cantaloupe, and while I am going to get into the offensive stats, it was the team's lockdown defense that really shined in this one. They made it tough on the opponent all night, giving up very few easy looks and forcing a good amount of turnovers. Ryan had a big second half, finishing with 12 points, 2 rebounds, and a steal, but in a shocking display of 3-point shooting, Kev was really the team’s catalyst for a good portion of the night, finishing with 11 points and 2 rebounds while going 3/4 from beyond the arc. Mikey G continued to be one of the Cantaloupe’s more consistent weapons ending with 8 points, 5 rebounds, an assist, and one block while Ryan Deal added in 7 timely points, 2 rebounds, and an assist. Lou got to the game late and took his time trying to find his rhythm but when the team needed him down the stretch, he delivered to the tune of 6 points, 1 assist, and 1 board. Joey B struggled a bit to find open looks but he did have a couple of impressive takes to keep things close in the first half as he finished with 4 points, 1 rebound, and 1 steal. As for Nick, Sean, and the Butler boys, they all had goose eggs in the score column, with Sean and Chris not even recording a shot attempt. Sean was tied for the team lead with 5 rebounds but his only other stat of the night was a turnover. Chris had another quad-single with 1 rebound, 1 block, 1 steal, and 1 turnover while fellow Butler Boy Anthony had just 1 rebound and a steal, which finally brings us to Nick. If you can look past the points column, not a bad game as he notched 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, and 1 block, but sadly, points are a big part of what we do here, and his struggles from beyond the arc are becoming more and more evident each week. After a solid week 7 performance fans had hoped the slump was over, but evidently, it was 2 steps forward, 3 steps back for the longtime Cantaloupe sharpshooter. Welsh finished 0-6 from the field which meant 0-6 from 3, causing some serious concern as his season-long struggles will carry into the final week of the regular season.

Luckily for Welsh and the rest of the Cantaloupe, they are set to take on the 1-6 Sloppy Warriors tonight as the regular season comes to a close. The Warriors are allowing close to 60 ppg to opponents this season with multiple 30+ point losses on their resume, the worst of which being a week 6 beat down from Too Tuff who clobbered the Warriors 101-46. No, that is not a typo, that is one hundred and one points that they allowed in a single 40-minute matchup so this should be an opportunity for Welsh and others to get on the same page offensively. Tip-off is set for 8:30 pm tonight Total Turf court #3. Be sure to come out and support as the Cantaloupe aim to wrap up their regular season with a win as they head into playoffs! As it stands currently, here are the rankings heading into the final week of the Summer Season:

1.) Malice at the Palace (6-2)

2.) Certified Buckets (5-3)

3.) The Rimshots (5-2)

4.) The Hold’Em Hillbillies (5-3)

5.) The Fighting Cantaloupe (5-2)

6.) Law of Averages (4-4)

7.) The Fat Dads (3-4)

8.) Ballhogz (2-5)

9.) The Process (0-8)

Written by: Jonathan Abbott

August 23rd, 2022