Cantaloupe Secure 6 Seed

The Fighting Cantaloupe went out with a bang last Tuesday, eliminating the Ballers from playoff contention after a 63-56 win in the last game of the regular season. The win brought the team total to 5 on the year, good enough to secure the 6th seed in the upcoming playoffs.

The Cantaloupe jumped out to an early lead behind some hot shooting and played tough defense out of the gate. Their lead was quickly cut in half though after Chet Holmgren Jr. started knocking down some threes and set up a few easy baskets for the tie-dye guy who was seemingly the Ballers only other source of offense. Anywho, a late run saw the Cantaloupe lead diminished down to just a couple of points heading into the half, and it was at that point the atmosphere in the gym began to change. After roaring back to close out the half, the Ballers were re-energized, and with a playoff spot on the line, the Cantaloupe knew they couldn’t let this one slip away.

With a subtle tension in the air, the second half started with a buzz as the Cantaloupe continued to turn defense into easy offense but some questionable refereeing on the far side gave the Ballers plenty of chances at the line, keeping the score close. Meanwhile down the other end, #2 was getting away with whatever he wanted on defense: elbows, forearms, shoving through screens, you name it. With the close side ref seemingly swallowing his whistle, the Cantaloupe began to show understandable signs of frustration as their lead once again slipped away with just 4 minutes left in the game.

Sadly for the Ballers, the Cantaloupe have some dawgs on this squad who are no strangers to physical matchups. The jawing that came with the Ballers fighting their way back seemed to be what Ryan needed to get going after a bit of a lackadaisical first half. The Cantaloupe’s leading scorer was reignited, starting to attack the basket relentlessly and finishing some tough takes en route to another 15-point night. Meanwhile, Lou, who had been picking up the Baller guards at half court all night was deflecting passes and snatching what felt like steal after steal, all leading to some impressive finishes at the rim as he absolutely took over down the stretch. A clutch three from Kev with a minute and a half left followed by a couple more big shots from Lou and that was all she wrote.

Taking a look at the stats, everyone found a way to get in on the action with one of the most filled box scores of the year. Lou, as we said had a monster 18-point night with 3 boards, 3 steals, and an assist on 57% shooting to go along with it. Ryan had a big second half finishing with 15 points, 2 boards, and a steal on 50% shooting. Kev and Nick played out of their minds doing a bit of everything to stuff the stat sheet. Kev finished with: 4 points, 4 assists, a team-high 8 rebounds, and 2 steals while Nick finished with: 11 points, 3 assists, 4 boards, 2 steals, and a block. Despite a slight hiccup, the Butler Boys were locked in making every shot they took, combining for 6 points, 3 assists, 5 rebounds, and 2 steals on you guessed it, 100% shooting from the floor. Mikey G made his return to the lineup and doesn’t look to have missed a beat finishing with 8 points, 2 assists, 3 rebounds, and a steal in his first game back since his week 5 ankle injury against the Hunt Club. Last but not least, Tyler rounded things out with a clutch 3 to slow down a late Baller run along with 2 boards and an assist on the night.

With their ticket punched and a 5-3 regular-season record, the Cantaloupe enter playoffs as the 6th seed which means they’ll once again be taking on the 7th seeded Out of Shape All-Stars in tonight’s first-round matchup. The All-Stars for those that don’t remember suffered a heated 48-43 loss to the Cantaloupe earlier in the season, but tonight’s matchup looks to be far different from the game of the year candidate we saw in week two. The last time around Tim was still active while Ryan was unavailable with an illness, and since that loss, the All-Stars have turned a corner. Going 5-1 to close out the regular season, you can bet that they’d like nothing more than to get that win back and send the Cantaloupe home in the process.

Bad blood aplenty in their last matchup, we caught up with Coach O’Neill to ask about his takeaways from the first game and whether or not he was concerned about his guys getting caught up in the trash talk again. O’Neill had this to say:

“We have to keep our heads, don't let them distract us. We know we’re better than them. We’ve eliminated them before we will do it again.” O’Neill of course referring to a couple of seasons back when the Cantaloupe eliminated the All-Stars in the first round. As far as gamelans go, he didn’t reveal much but he did add that they “may have some defensive adjustments” to help slow down Out of Shape’s offense.

Tip-off is set for 9:30 pm as the Cantaloupe look to improve to 3-1 all-time against the Out of Shape All-Stars on their quest for another title. As always we look forward to seeing a packed Fruit Basket as the playoffs finally begin tonight on Total Turf Court 3.

Written by: Jonathan Abbott

May 30, 2022