by Cóilín Duffy
Flexachem KCYMS 61 University of Galway Maree 98
University of Galway Maree are top of the InsureMyVan.ie Mens Superleague this Christmas after recording their biggest margin of victory this season with a 98-61 scoreline away against Super League strugglers Flexachem KCYMS on Saturday night last.
Jarett Haines posted 22 points, while joint-captain Stephen Commins had a season-high 21 in a well balanced squad performance.
Unlike their hard-fought 94-84 victory in the reverse fixture on MD2 back among home comforts, this encounter wasn't much of a contest by half-time.
Flexachem forward Robert Kelly Jr, who led the game outright with 35 points in 36 minutes that day in October, had a more modest 18-point outing here.
The 25-year-old's blistering speed was both a help and hindrance for the hosts, reinforced by a first-half sequence where he turned the ball over having hesitated when scanning for options after drawing attention aplenty in the paint.
Maree were gunning for an unassailable lead, getting there through a variety of different scoring methods.
Haines' quick turn of pace and silky dribble moves saw him frequently confuse defenders, while Eoin Rockall showed his upper body strength to ensure their leading scorer wasn't the only man scoring through traffic.
Commins drilled a trio of three-pointers en route to his most productive quarter of the season so far, while a nice pick-and-roll action between Rockall and Rodrigo Gomez saw the latter add gloss at the end of a big ten-minute spell.
That aforementioned basket meant the visitors had tied their season-high for points scored in a quarter (32) to blast their hosts away early on and things would only worsen for KCYMS, who couldn't buy a three-pointer in the second quarter.
They looked bafflingly at the officials, but those Flexachem players couldn't consistently contest shots without fouling and the game's stop-start tempo only hurt their flow as they looked to claw back an ominous double-digit deficit.
They may have only finished with four more total fouls (22-18), but that statistic masks the attacking relentlessness at times that KCYMS couldn't match.
Couple that with an inability to regularly convert their own free-throws (8-of-17) and Galway grabbing rebounds aplenty on both ends, Charlie Crowley's side outworked and executed plays much better throughout.
They fed the hot hand - Commins - and the lead was an eyewatering 24 points at half-time.
Haines had nine in the third quarter, while Gomez and Zvonimir Cutuk were also contributors down the stretch when it would've been easy to coast through the second-half.
There were also some productive minutes in store for Ben Burke, Malik Thiam, Comhghall McCormack and Matthew Sweeney, all of whom have played sporadic roles so far this term.
Speaking of production, Paul Freeman had seven points off the bench in his best scoring outing of the year.
KCYMS may hold a 3-7 record this season, but no team has managed to blast them off the court the way Maree managed on this occasion. As such, dominant displays like this will enthuse the group to continue playing this way.
After a week break for the Christmas holidays next Saturday, University of Galway Maree finish 2022 away from home: a trip to Neptune and a 6.30pm tip-off time awaits on December 30th.
Scorers for Flexachem KCYMS: Robert Alan Kelly Jr 18, Shane O’Connell 11, Jani Griffith 11, Aksels Skaistlauks 8, Aleix Tarradellas 6, Pharroh Gordon 4, Liam Croke 3.
Scorers for University of Galway Maree: Jarett Haines 22, Stephen Commins 21, Eoin Rockall 13, Rodrigo Gomez 11, Paul Freeman 7, Zach Light 6, Cathal Finn 5, Malik Thiam 4, Zvonimir Cutuk 4, Matthew Sweeney 3, Ben Burke 2.
Flexachem KCYMS Killorglin:
Starting line-up: Liam Croke, Aleix Tarradellas, Robert Alan Kelly Jr, Pharroh Gordon, Jani Griffith.
Bench: Ronan Fitzpatrick, Sean O’Brien, Declan Wall, Conor Murphy, Shane O’Connell, Aksels Skaistlauks.
University of Galway Maree:
Stephen Commins, Eoin Rockall, Rodrigo Gomez, Jarett Haines, Zvonimir Cutuk.
Bench: Cathal Finn, Comhghall McCormack, Ben Burke, Zach Light, Matthew Sweeney, Malik Thiam, Paul Freeman.
