Cantaloupe Start Season with a W

The Cantaloupe came out swinging this season with an impressive performance in last week's Spring opener. In a game that was never really in doubt, the Fighting Cantaloupe took down Coulda Been Pro 55-44 as Tim put on a farewell performance for the ages…. Well, what was supposed to be a farewell performance anyway. Tim finished with 10 points, 4 assists, and 11 boards putting him in elite company as one of the few players in franchise history to post a double-double. Initial reports stated that after week one Tim would be heading out west on an excursion to Utah but much to everyone’s surprise, Coach O’Neill confirmed earlier this afternoon that the team's star forward would in fact be available for week 2.

Back to last week's game though, fans were thrilled to see some familiar faces as Kev, Nick, and Lou all made their returns to the Cantaloupe. There were definitely some signs of rust, but overall they all had pretty solid performances. Nick struggled a bit to find his shooting stroke but still finished the night with 11 points, 2 assists, and 3 boards. Kev was back dominating the paint and hustling for some second-chance opportunities finishing with 8 points and 6 boards. As for Lou, he struggled to get the lid off the basket finishing with just 2 points but that wasn’t going to stop him from finding ways to make an impact. Along with his 2 points, Lou tallied an assist, a rebound, 2 blocks, and 2 steals with 0 turnovers as he assumed primary PG duties. Chris also had a nice game notching 5 points, 1 assist, and 4 boards which was a promising sign for fans after Chris’ noted struggles during the Winter.

The Spring season continues tonight as the Cantaloupe take on the 0-1 Out of Shape All-Stars. The All-Stars enter week 2 coming off of a tough 38-33 loss to the Hold’Em Hillbillies, but the Cantaloupe will find themselves without last year's leading scorer Ryan Welsh. Welsh, who led the team with 17 points in week one was ruled out earlier this morning with an undisclosed illness. With Ryan out, O’Neill has decided to call in Mikey G (Tim’s future replacement when he heads to Utah) a week early. Mike spent one season with the Cantaloupe and fans haven’t heard much since. With the team's offensive inconsistencies last season and now Ryan’s absence, fans are hopeful Mikey G can step in and help bring a spark to the offense as they look to pick up their second straight win to start the year. Tip-Off is tonight @ 8:30 Court #5.

Written by: Jonathan Abbott

April 14th, 2022