If family and friends are what the holiday season is about, then there is no better time of year to host the Craig Sears and Matt Girouard Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser.

In fact, this year’s turnout shows that an entire community remembers Matt and Craig as members of their own family.

The weekend-long event found youngsters, retirees, and everyone in between joining in the fun and honoring the memory of our dear friends, both of whom were lost in a tragic automobile accident a little more than a year ago.

On Saturday, January 1, a raucous gym watched as the first round of the Basketball Tournament got underway.

The early game pitted a long-in-the-tooth but very capable “Old School” against Patrick Devlin’s “Takin’ It Late.”

It was a hotly contested and at times a bit chippy, but in the end “Old School” avenged last year’s early exit and moved into Sunday’s semifinals.

Later that day “The Girouard Monsters,” captained by Ryan Abrial, met up with “The Toon Squad,” which consisted of seven Town of Webb Class of 2010 graduates plus Pat Perkins, father of team captain Jason Perkins.

This game was equally entertaining and many in the crowd, showing special appreciation for the older players, cheered every time Pat touched the ball.

They roared their approval as the clock wound down to send “Old Man” Perkins and his band of baby-faced teammates to the next round.

Between contests attendees kept busy with hilarious games of musical chairs as well as free-throw and three-point shooting competitions, won by Will Johnson and Colin Criss, respectively.

Hey, Colin—if you ever tire of the slopes, there’s always room for a guy with that kind of touch on the hardwood. Not that I’m recruiting… just sayin’!

Meanwhile, Guy Greco and the entire Greco family put on the best spaghetti dinner ever held in a school cafeteria, according to numerous sources.

I, too, was impressed with the spread, and being half-Italian I know a thing or two about Al dente.

Emotions ran high on Sunday as the teams took to the floor for the first game of the semi-finals.

The fans seemingly couldn’t make up their minds who to root for. One minute “Old School” would garner their favor, only to see sentimental favorite “The Union Suits” capture their hearts moments later.

“The Union Suits” were last year’s runner up and their floor leader, Tommy Greco, was as close to Matt and Craig as anyone.

I suppose there were many in the stands who wanted to see Tom lift the Tournament Trophy no matter what team he was on.

By the time the buzzer sounded, those wishes would be one step closer to becoming a reality as “Old School’s” run toward glory came to an end.

The guys seemed pleased with their performance and showed great sportsmanship as they wished their foes the best of luck in the Finals.

Thus far, we’d had a great tournament, but nobody could have predicted what was about to occur.

“The Toon Squad” had a huge obstacle to overcome if they were to play in the night game, and that roadblock came in the form of last year’s Champions, “No Bueno.”

Making the matchup even more intriguing was the fact that two pairs of family members would be facing off.

“The Toon Squad’s” Brian Josephson and Eric Socash would redefine sibling rivalry as they warmed up across the floor from older brothers Adam Josephson and Trey Socash. Talk about subplots!

Early on, “No Bueno” appeared they would have little difficulty in disposing of their opponents, as they built a fourteen point lead in the first half.

As they came out for the second half, Jason Perkins walked over and asked, “Whaddya’ think?” I told him they should stay on an even keel, and that everything would work out.

Truth is, I didn’t think they had a snowflake’s chance on a woodstove. Amazingly, in a complete reversal of fortunes, “No Bueno’s” shots stopped dropping and “The Toon Squad” began mounting a comeback, slowly but surely.

The crowd seemed to jump on their bandwagon as well as ole Mo’, and before you know it, they had forced the first overtime in Tournament history.

True, the tourney is only in its second year, but it still was a wondrous thing to watch.

The extra period went back and forth with both teams leaving it all on the floor and, much to the delight of the newly-partisan fans, “The Toon Squad” held on for the victory.

And, while nobody from their team said so aloud, I believe they drew inspiration from their fallen teammate, Brian Josephson who, playing the part of “The Gipper,” was injured and not able to return.

With two hours remaining until the Championship game, Master of Ceremonies Travis Kiefer kept everyone entertained with more musical chairs, door prize drawings, and an impromptu open-floor “Youth Game.”

I wasn’t sure what to expect as the two Finalists entered the gym Sunday night.

At one end of the building was the youngest team in the tourney. At the other, an experienced and physically-imposing group of mostly twenty-somethings who appeared to be on a mission.

On the down side, it was the least competitive contest of the entire tournament with Tommy Greco’s “Union Suits” runnin’ and gunnin’ their way to a huge lead and a lopsided victory.

To be fair, “The Toon Squad” was down a man, and had to play three games (two consecutively) which certainly put them at a disadvantage.

On a happier note, that won’t likely happen again as they are the runners-up and will earn a bye in next year’s tournament assuming the same format carries forward.

Actually, despite the loss, they seemed sincerely pleased for their foes. Especially so for Tommy Greco, who immediately placed a favorite photo of Craig and Matt alongside the Memorial Basketball Tournament trophy.

When asked how it felt, as his team’s spiritual leader, to win it all, he deflected credit to his cohorts, saying “You better ask Justin (Dibble). He shot us to victory.”

Indeed Dibble rained down threes all night, totaling 31 points and earning the nod as Tournament MVP.

Congratulations “Union Suits.” You are this year’s champions with your name to be engraved on the trophy.

Remember, though, that in exactly one year a new bracket of teams will be aiming to unseat you. Both I and a couple of your pals who were watching over the proceedings know you’ll be ready.