Mac’s Fun Ball summer hoops season winding down
This weekend’s games
will determine
playoff participants
By doug mckenzie
Staff Writer

MARK KSENIAK The Titans’ Ray Locicero drives to the hoop during a Mac’s Fun Ball game on Saturday at Walloo Park in Middletown.

Things are getting interesting at Walloo Park in Middletown, home of the Mac’s Fun Ball summer basketball league.

With just one set of games left before the start of the league’s playoffs, this weekend’s make-up games feature a pair of teams from the six-team league playing for the final available spot.

On Saturday, the Celtics dropped a 46-44 contest to the Colts to fall to 6-3. However, the Celtics are assured of a playoff spot, with the team’s top record entering Friday’s action.

They are joined by the Rockets, who at 5-4 are also guaranteed a playoff spot

Saturday’s win was the second in two days for the Colts, who had previously beaten the Lions on Friday, 83-80. Jason Miller had 19 points and Mike Holly 20 to lead the Colts against the Lions, who were led by Cody Chalmers’ 38 points and Mike Niesz’s 28.

Against the Celtics, Miller again led the way with 15 rebounds.

As for the Lions, they are 4-5 on the season, and may face a must-win game on Friday in a rematch against the Colts at 5 p.m.

According to the league’s commissioner, John McDermott, the Lions’ situation marks one of the league’s most interesting stories.

"That’s a team that has two guys in Chalmers and Niesz averaging about 60 points between the two of them, and they may not make the playoffs," he said.

With a loss against the Colts on Friday, the Lions will have to wait and see how the 4-5 Titans fare against the Celtics in the second game. The Titans are coming off a solid weekend in which they won two important games to improve their playoff chances.

On Friday, the Titans surprised the Celtics with a 66-47 win behind Billy Garrison’s 23 points. Then on Saturday, they knocked the Eagles out of the playoff picture with a 63-47 win. Once again it was Garrison leading the way with 20 points, while Tom McDermott led the Eagles with 18. McDermott also led the Eagles in scoring on Friday with 13 points in a 73-37 loss to the Rockets.

If the Lions fall to the Colts on Friday, the Titans can clinch the final playoff spot with a win. If both teams lose on Friday, the Lions are in by virtue of their 2-0 head-to-head record against the Titans.

It all adds up to another exciting night of hoops in what has become a local attraction for basketball enthusiasts.

"We really have a lot of fun with it," McDermott said. "And in the fall, it should be even better because there are no AAU teams, and we’re going to open it up to 21-year-olds."

Sign-ups for the fall league will be held on Friday and Saturday from 4-5 p.m. for active players, and on Aug. 8 and 9 for new players. The cost is $60 for active players, and $70 for new players.

As for the rest of the fall season, it’s really anybody’s championship to win.

"It’s very competitive, and all the teams can beat each other," McDermott said.

But when pressed, the commissioner admits to favoring the Colts’ chances the rest of the way.

"I think that if Jason Miller (a 6-3 center from Rumson) plays, they’re going to be tough to beat the rest of the way," he said.