The Malloy and Laweryson families would like to invite you to their first invitational basketball game.
Actually, it happened Saturday. As I write this, high school seniors from around Maine are getting ready to play in the annual McDonald’s All-Star Games at Husson University. As you read this, the games are over.
For the Malloy and Laweryson families of Madison and Bingham, respectively, the McDonald’s All-Star Game is a big deal this season. Cousins Cody Laweryson and Luke Malloy, of Valley, and Chase Malloy, of Madison, are on the Class C/D South roster together. For the cousins, the game is the first time in a long time they’ve been able to play on the same team together, and with each off to different colleges in the fall, it’s also the last time.
“Me and Chase were actually just shooting together on Sunday, talking about the game,” Laweryson said. “It’s going to be fun.”
“I’m hoping we have time to play together. I just think it will be a fun time,” Luke Malloy said.
The coaches for Team C/D South are Valley head coach Luke Hartwell and Madison head coach Jason Furbush. It’s a good bet those two will find the opportunity to get the firm of Malloy, Malloy and Laweryson on the court together. Recently, Hartwell said that would likely happen, just so he and Furbush would avoid the ire of grandparents.
The cousin’s families share a camp, where in the summer they’ll shoot around or play pickup games.
“If we’re playing a game together, we’ll get pretty serious,” Chase Malloy said.
Laweryson and Luke Malloy were starters on the Valley team that went undefeated and won the Class D state title last month. Chase Malloy started for a Madison team that won 14 games and lost a close regional quarterfinal game to Boothbay. They followed each others teams closely.
“I was at every (playoff) game,” Chase Malloy said. “At the state championship game, I was going pretty crazy.”
The cousins haven’t played together in three years, since they were on an AAU team comprised of players from Valley, Madison and Skowhegan when they were freshmen.
“With that team we played every Saturday,” Luke Malloy said. “We played a lot of basketball.”
In high school, Madison and Valley frequently played a preseason exhibition game. We’ll ask Chase who won.
“We did, every single time,” Chase said.
When the cousins were in eighth grade, Valley and Madison played in the same junior high basketball tournament. As the tournament advanced and it was apparent their teams would meet in the championship game, the rivalry kicked up a notch or five.
“We were always talking trash about who’s going to win,” Chase said.
Madison won. None of them could remember the score.
“I remember us losing,” Luke said, “and I remember I fouled out that game.”
The McDonald’s All-Star games are a chance for a few dozen seniors to get one more chance to play high school basketball. For Chase, Luke and Cody, it’s a chance to play one more game with a cousin and a pair of good friends. That’s the kind of opportunity that makes more lasting memories.
Travis Lazarczyk — 861-9242
tlazarczyk@centralmaine.com
Twitter: @TLazarczykMTM
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.