Cantaloupe Stay Undefeated Following Week 3 Thriller

The Fighting Cantaloupe bounced back in a huge way last week, taking down the now 0-3 Ballhogz 52-47. Just one week removed from a sloppy win over Law of Averages that saw the Cantaloupe turn the ball over 19 times, the ‘lope turned around and delivered a thriller in week 3. With both teams playing tough D early in the first half, points were hard to come by, well- hard to come by for everyone except Ryan that is. The younger Welsh Bro single-handedly kept the Cantaloupe in this one as he was the only player to record a basket until Kev joined him with just 6 minutes remaining in the half. Kev’s bucket pushed the lead to 4 as they found themselves up 18-14, but the Cantaloupe lead would not last. The Ballhogz went on a 12-2 run to close out the half and after a near buzzer-beating three, they led 26-20 heading into the break.

So, the offense was struggling, and the momentum had just swung heavily in the Ballhogz favor. If this had been the same Cantaloupe team from week 2, you could have packed it in right then and there, and to be honest, after the first few minutes of the second half, it looked like they had. But this wasn’t the same team from week 2. They were locked in during the break, and even though they came out a little flat for the first few minutes of the second half, they knew all they needed was a little spark.

Fortunately, that spark came in the form of Joey B whose active hands led to a few easy buckets cutting the Ballhogz lead down to 31-25 at the 15:00 mark. The energy on both sides of the ball started picking up, and before long Mikey G had asserted his dominance over the painted area, hauling in rebound after rebound, dishing out assists on a couple of big three’s and swatting seemingly every shot that went up near him as the Cantaloupe chipped away at the Ballhogz lead, cutting it down to two, 38-36. With just under ten minutes left on the clock, while it was essentially his only contribution, it was Anthony’s time to shine as he brought down a contested offensive rebound before spinning straight into one of his patented running layups, and swish, tie ballgame. The Fruit Basket erupted, and before they could even sit back down, Lou came up with a huge steal that led to another highlight finish as he met 3 Ballhog defenders at the rim, converting for two points and the lead.

The moment was short-lived though as the Hogz came storming back, and after a deep three followed by a couple of successful free throws, the Cantaloupe found themselves once again trailing, 43-40. Mikey G answered with a basket of his own to cut the lead to one, but again, before the fans could finish their cheering, the Hogz swung back as the guard with the neon green shoes finished back to back TOUGH layups, and though he missed the chance for a three-point play on the second, the Hogz now led 47-42 with under three minutes remaining. After a few back and forth possessions, Ryan re-introduced himself to the spotlight knocking down a huge 3 to cut the lead back down to two with 1:56 left. Like clockwork though, the Ballhogz drew a foul on the other end and the crowd was once again silenced as the Hogz looked to take a two-possession lead. What happened next though was truly one of the worst blunders in recent PlayMore history as the Ballhogz nullified the FT attempts after not one, but TWO consecutive lane violations forcing a turnover and a chance to tie for the Cantaloupe. Befittingly, Ryan converted a nice layup to square things up at 47, and with less than a minute on the clock, fans held their breath as this one came down to the wire.

The Ballhogz looked to answer one last time, but a tipped pass sent both teams scrambling to the floor for the loose ball. Mayhem ensued and the ball popped out leaving the Cantaloupe with numbers in transition, but before they could convert the easy layup to take a late lead, the whistles blew. Amidst the chaos, a timeout had been called securing the Cantaloupe possession as both teams headed to the bench. A nervous hush fell over the crowd as the teams retook the court, but after a quick inbounds pass, Lou wasted no time shaking his defender and getting to his spot for an insanely clutch mid-range pull-up to take the lead with just seconds left on the clock. Mikey G iced the game with a few free throws after the Ballhogz were forced to foul, and as the final buzzer sounded, the Cantaloupe’s undefeated record remained intact.

Ryan unsurprisingly led the team in scoring with a huge 25-point performance and even threw in 4 rebounds, an assist, and 3 steals to go with. Mikey G and Nick were tied with 8 a piece for the next highest point totals, Mikey G also with a team-high 7 rebounds along with a couple of assists and a few blocks, Nick, with an assist and 3 boards. Lou had a nice night with 6 points, 3 assists, and 3 steals highlighted by his go-ahead bucket in the closing minute. Kev stuffed the stat sheet as usual with 5 points, 6 boards, 1 assist, 1 steal, and a block. Joey B was active on both sides of the ball finishing with 2 points, 2 assists, 5 rebounds, and 3 steals. Anthony notched 2 points and 1 rebound during his one shining moment also adding 1 assist to boot. Last we have Sean and Chris, neither of whom scored any points but they did combine for 1 assist, 5 rebounds, and a steal.

The Cantaloupe return to action off the back of this last week's big win Tuesday night @ 8:30 pm as they take on the 2-2 Certified Buckets. The Buckets come into this one on a two-game win streak after dropping their first two games of the season to the Hold’Em Hillbillies and Malace at the Palace. Certified Buckets currently averages 48.25 ppg while allowing an average of 42 ppg to opponents. Be sure to tune in this Tuesday to the hottest show on hardwood as we look forward to seeing another filled Fruit Basket!

Written by: Jonathan Abbott

July 24, 2022