The Boston Amateur Basketball Club held its annual Boston Shootout this past weekend. The Shootout is one of the most storied events in all of New England with a long list of notable alumni at both the college and professional levels. However, this year the event took on an added dimension as it tipped off on Friday night with the Mike Crotty Memorial Games.Mike Crotty was the longtime coach and director of another top local AAU program, the Middlesex Magic, before he unexpectedly passed away on February 2, 2010.Basketball and family were synonymous for Crotty as was exemplified by the fact that both his brother, George Crotty, and his son, Mike Crotty Jr., coached with him in the Magic program.Crotty Jr. has picked up the torch in his father's absence, becoming the new director of the Middlesex Magic while also coaching the program's U-17 team, which is arguably the most talented team the Magic have ever assembled.Friday night's festivities featured three games with the Magic, BABC and Mass Rivals all represented. A pre-game ceremony was held prior to the evening's final game, honoring coach Crotty and his commitment to both the game of basketball and local youth.George Crotty was first to address the crowd and he spoke of his brother's commitment to his players and love for the game of basketball. Next up Pat Connaughton (Danvers, Mass./St. John's Prep), the captain of the Magic's U-17 team, spoke of how his coach's huge presence was immediately noticeable whenever you walked into a gym as well as the numerous lessons that he learned from him about life beyond the game of basketball.Finally, Crotty Jr. took the microphone and spoke to the crowd. He shared his own memories of growing up playing for his dad, expressed his family's thanks for all the support they have received in the last four months, and reminded everyone of his father's priorities on the basketball floor -- get better and have fun.Following the ceremony, the final game of the night tipped off between the Middlesex Magic and Mass Rivals U-17 teams. Appropriately, the contest was a highly-competitive, double overtime thriller that came down to the very last possession before the Rivals would escape with the victory.Ryan Canty (Danvers, Mass./ The Tilton School) was a tremendous presence inside the paint for the Rivals, while Connaughton was clutch for the Magic down the stretch. But it was Rivals' guard Jordan Laguerre (Manchester, N.H./New Hampton) who virtually single-handedly carried his team back from a double digit second half deficit to earn the win.Following the hard-fought and emotional game, Rivals coach Vin Pastore, who shared a sideline with Crotty earlier in his career, told Crotty Jr. how much his father would have loved the game just played in his honor.He was corrected. "He did love it," Crotty Jr. said.