DCU Saints handed DBS Éanna their first loss in the Men’s
Super League on Saturday evening, with a 70-55 win over their Dublin
neighbours.
Saints looked threatening from the off, opening up an early
21-14 first quarter lead thanks to sharpshooting from Graham Brannelly and Mike
Bonaparte. Despite good work from Stefan Zecevic and Paris Ballinger of Éanna
in the second, the hosts still led at the half, 43-33. Big scores from Zecevic
down the stretch began to close the gap, but Bonaparte, Martin Neary and
Charlie Coombes were all on hand to steady the DCU ship and finish the game out
strong to win by 15 points.
Speaking afterwards, Saints' head coach Mark Kiernan stated:
"As a coach, a win like this is extremely satisfying as the contribution
from the bench matched that of the starting five. Éanna didn't make life easy
at any stage and were always a threat throughout. This will act as a boost to
the team as an indication of how we can perform against a classy opposition. As
for all teams, next week is yet again another test for us. The takeaways from
this are extremely positive from the perspective of the players, club and
coaching staff."
Belfast Star managed to hold out under pressure from UCD
Marian to secure an 85-78 point home win. Trailing by one point at the end of
the first quarter, momentum slowly swung in Star's favour in the second, with
Ben Marello (who finished the game out with 27 points) leading the way, to hold
a 43-33 half time cushion. Good scoring from Aidan Quinn and CJ Fulton helped
extend Star's lead, 66-49, going into the last, and though Marian launched a
strong comeback through Barry Drumm in the fourth, Star held on to win out by
seven in the end.
Down in Galway meanwhile, Maree overcame the challenge of
Griffith College Templeogue with ease on Saturday evening, defeating the 2019
Champions Trophy champions 83-71. Maree led from the start, with big defensive
displays keeping Templeogue to just 27 points in the first half. Big
performances from Darin Johnson, Kenneth Hansberry and Paul Freeman saw them
keep control of the pace of the game to run out 12-point winners. Speaking
afterwards, head coach Mike Lynch stated: “I’m absolutely delighted with
tonight’s results. We were under no illusions as to who were favourites coming
into the game, but we did our homework well and the players put on a great
defensive display.”
Elsewhere, Pyrobel Killester dealt Neptune a second loss in
as many weeks with a solid performance down in Cork on Saturday evening.
Spaniard Tomas Fernandez led the way for the Dubliners, with guards Isaac
Westbrooks and Ciaran Roe also impressing in a 70-82 point win. Garvey’s Tralee
Warriors picked up a big home win on Saturday evening, running out 89-53 point
winners over Moycullen in Kerry. Jonathan Lawton and Eoin Quigley were two of
the standouts for the Tralee outfit as they drove into a 44-27 point lead at
the half and didn’t look back from there.
Over in the Women’s Super League, DCU Mercy continued their
perfect start to the season on Saturday evening, running out 62-76 point
winners over Fr Mathews in Cork in a hotly-contested battle. DCU had the better
of the opening exchanges, leading 10-24 going into the second quarter thanks to
sharp shooting from Sarah Woods and Ashley Russell. A rapid recovery for the
hosts though saw Fr Mathews find their rhythm, with Grainne Dwyer and Shannon
Brady beginning to dominate inside. Momentum stayed with the Cork side and they
were down by by just two going into the last, 50-52. DCU pushed back hard in
the fourth though, getting out of the blocks early with a run of big scores
from Russell and Rachel Huijsdens and, despite Mathews' best efforts, Mercy ran
out 62-76 point winners in the end.
“That was tough, but you would expect a tough clash from Fr
Mathews when you come to Cork,” reflected Mercy head coach, Mark Ingle. “If you
look at the final score, it looks like a very good road win but I still think
we left it a lot out there. I think our defence swung the game in the fourth
quarter. We did a better job pressuring the guards and stopping the entry pass
into Shannon and she didn’t get the ball as easy."
Elsewhere, Maree overcame Maxol WIT Wildcats in Waterford
Saturday evening 80-92 in a thriller. The game was neck-in-neck throughout the
opening three quarters, with Wildcats leading by just three at the end of the
third, 67-64. A huge fourth quarter from Maree's Aine McDonagh, Carly
McClendon, and Claire Rockall – who combined for 58 points in total - helped
edge Maree into the lead. Despite a big 20-point display from Wildcats'
underage international star Debbie Ogayemi and a great performance from Stephanie
O’Shea, Maree held their nerve in the closing stages of the fourth quarter to
get the road win.
There was a big showdown in Leixlip on Saturday evening, as
Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics went on the hunt for revenge over Ambassador
UCC Glanmire after their Cup loss last week. It wasn’t to be for the reigning
league champions though, as Glanmire's Shirta Parker was one of the standouts
on the night, finishing the game out with 25 points. Despite good work from
Liffey’s Kylee Smith and Aine O’Connor Glanmire took home the win, 51-73.
Elsewhere, Pyrobel Killester ran out impressive 105-57 point winners over IT
Carlow Basketball in Clontarf on Saturday afternoon. In what was a dominant
performance from the Dublin side - who truly shot the lights out - they
converted 15 three pointers on the night, with Adella Randle El impressing with
a final tally of 24 points.
The final game of the weekend saw Singleton SuperValu
Brunell overcome Marble City Hawks in Cork, on a final scoreline of 65-45 to
pick up their first win of the season. New American Treyanna Clay proved to be
a strong signing for Tim O’Halloran’s charges as they ran into a 41-27 point
lead at the half. Good work from point guard Danielle O’Leary and Greta
Tamasanskaite kept the scores ticking over for Brunell and despite a good
display from Cassidy Williams and Elaine Kennington of Hawks, their first win
of the season remained elusive.
Basketball Ireland
Results: November 1st-3rd
Basketball Ireland
Men’s Super League:
Abbey Seals Dublin Lions 76-93 Keanes Supervalu Killorglin
Coughlan CandS Neptune 70-82 Pyrobel Killester
DCU Saints 70-55 DBS Eanna
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 89-53 Moycullen
Belfast Star 85-78 UCD Marian
Maree 83-71 Griffith College Templeogue
Basketball Ireland
Women’s Super League:
Fr Mathews 62-76 DCU Mercy
Pyrobel Killester 105-57 IT Carlow Basketball
Maxol WIT Wildcats 80-92 Maree
Leixlip Amenities Liffey Celtics 51-73 Ambassador UCC
Glanmire
Singleton SuperValu Brunell 65-45 Marble City Hawks
Basketball Ireland
Men’s Division One:
EJ Sligo All-Stars 104-99 Ulster University (after overtime)
Scotts Lakers St Pauls Killarney 77-74 LYIT Donegal
Fr Mathews 87-62 Waterford Vikings
Portlaoise Panthers 91-101 Limerick Celtics
Basketball Ireland
Women’s Division One:
UL Huskies 75-60 Limerick Celtics
Phoenix Rockets 61-65 Swords Thunder
Griffith College Templeogue 75-76 Ulster University
Basketball Ireland Detailed Results: November 1st-3rd
Basketball
Ireland Men’s Super League:
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 89-53 Moycullen
Top
scorers Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Jonathan Lawton 20, Eoin Quigley 16, Daniel
Jokubaitis 13
Top
scorers Moycullen: Kyle Cunningham 8, Patrick Lyons 8, Joseph Tummon 6
Half
time score: Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 44-27 Moycullen
Maree 83-71 Griffith College Templeogue
Top
scorers Maree: Darin Johnson 26, Kenneth Hansberry 20, Paul Freeman 12
Top
scorers Griffith College Templeogue: Neil Randolph 16, XabierArriaga 15, Jason
Killeen 13
Half
time score: Maree 45-27 Griffith College Templeogue
Basketball
Ireland Women’s Super League:
Maxol
WIT Wildcats 80-92 Maree
Top
scorers Maxol WIT Wildcats: Debbie Ogayemi 20, Stephanie O Shea 16, Jasmine
Walker 15
Top
scorers Maree: Aine McDonagh 20, Carly McClendon 19, Claire Rockall 19
Half
time score: Maxol WIT Wildcats 45-42 Maree
Basketball
Ireland Fixtures: November 9th and 10th
Saturday 9th
November 2019
Basketball
Ireland Men’s Super League:
Griffith
College Templeogue v DCU Saints, Nord Anglia International School, 19:00;
DBS
Eanna v Belfast Star, Colaiste Eanna, 19:00;
UCD
Marian v Abbey Seals Dublin Lions, UCD, 19:00;
Pyrobel
Killester v Maree, IWA-Clontarf, 19:00;
Keanes Supervalu Killorglin v Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, Killorglin Sports Centre, 19:15
Moycullen v Coughlan CandS Neptune, The Jes, 19:30;
Basketball
Ireland Women’s Super League:
IT
Carlow Basketball v Marble City Hawks, Barrow Centre-IT Carlow, 15:15;
Pyrobel
Killester v Maree, IWA Clontarf, 17:00;
Leixlip
Amenities Liffey Celtics v Fr Mathews, Leixlip Amenities Centre, 19:00;
Basketball
Ireland Men’s Division One:
IT
Carlow Basketball v LYIT Donegal, Barrow Centre-IT Carlow, 12:30;
Ulster
University v Fr Mathews, UUJ, 15:00;
Tradehouse
Central Ballincollig v McGowans Tolka Rovers, Ballincollig CS, 16:00;
Scotts
Lakers St Paul’s Killarney v EJ Sligo All-Stars, Killarney SC, 19:30;
Basketball Ireland Women’s Division One:
NUIG
Mystics v Griffith College Templeogue, BallinfoileCC, Headford Rd, 12:00;
Fabplus
North West v Trinity Meteors, LYIT, 16:00;
Ulster
University v Swords Thunder, UUJ, 17:15;
Portlaoise
Panthers v UL Huskies, St Mary’s Sports Hall, 19:00;
Sunday 10th
November 2019
Basketball
Ireland Women’s Super League:
Ambassador
UCC Glanmire v Maxol WIT Wildcats, Mardyke Arena, 14:30;
DCU
Mercy v Singleton SuperValu Brunell, DCU, 14:30;
Basketball
Ireland Men’s Division One:
Limerick
Celtics v Waterford Vikings, St Munchins, 17:00;
Basketball
Ireland Women’s Division One:
Limerick
Celtics v Team Tom McCarthys St Marys, St Munchins, 15:00;
NUIG
Mystics v Tipperary Knights, Ballinfoile CC, Headford Rd, 16:30;
