Templeogue have edged ahead in the race at the top of the Men’s Super League this weekend, to take prime position at the top of the league table ahead of the Christmas break.
The men in red ran out impressive 76-105 point winners over Griffith College Swords Thunder in a big Dublin derby at the ALSAA on Saturday evening, with Neil Randolph, Lorcan Murphy and Jason Killeen the stand out performers on the night.
It wasn’t all one-way traffic though, as Swords held a slender two-point lead at the end of the first, thanks to the mastery at the top of the key from point guard, Isaac Westbrooks. A big push from Templeogue in the second saw them take a 43-50 point lead at half-time, but the game was in the melting pot still, with Thunder’s Elijah Mays causing havoc for the Templeogue defence. Randolph and Murphy began to dominate proceedings in the third and despite good play from Adrian Fernandez at the other end, Templeogue pushed into a 62-79 point lead by the end of the third and finished strong from there.
Speaking afterwards, head coach, Mark Keenan said: “It’s always tricky out here, we only got our first win out here last year, so we know how hard it is to get a win out here. I thought we were great in the second half, our zone defence worked well in slowing down Elijah [Mays].
“We are ahead now, the other teams have to win that game in hand now it adds a bit of pressure for them. We bounced back well from a couple of sloppy weeks and I’m really happy with the attitude. Hopefully we can keep this momentum going now.”
Christmas isn’t as merry for Galway side, Moycullen, who remain bottom of the Men’s Super League table this weekend following an 80-63 point loss at the hands of UCD Marian in Dublin. A huge 36-point game from UCD’s Mike Garrow saw them stretch out a lead early on and they didn’t look back from there with Aidan Dunne and Conor Meany also contributing on the top scoring.
Games continue next weekend.
Basketball Ireland Results: December 22nd, 2018
Basketball Ireland Men’s Super League:
UCD Marian 80-63 Moycullen
Top scorers UCD Marian: Mike Garrow 36, Aidan Dunne 10, Conor Meany 7
Top scorers Moycullen: Joseph Tummon 13, Kyle Cunningham 10, Isaiah Harris-Winn 10
Half time score: UCD Marian 47-33 Moycullen
Griffith College Swords Thunder 76-105 Templeogue
Top scorers Griffith College Swords Thunder: Elijah Mays 24, Isaac Westbrooks 20, Adrian Fernandez 14
Top scorers Templeogue: Neil Randolph 28, Jason Killeen 26, Lorcan Murphy 16
Half time score: Griffith College Swords Thunder 43-50 Templeogue
Basketball Ireland Fixtures: December 29-30th
Please note - all fixtures are subject to change. The most up-to-date fixtures will be on www.basketballireland.ie
Saturday 29th December 2018
Basketball Ireland Men’s Super League:
CandS Neptune v Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, Neptune Stadium, 19:00;
DCU Saints v Maree, DCU Complex, 19:00;
Pyrobel Killester v Griffith College Swords Thunder, IWA-Clontarf, 19:00;
Keane’s Supervalu Killorglin v UCC Demons, Killorglin Sports Centre, 19:15;
Basketball Ireland Men’s Division One:
UL Sports Eagles v Waterford Vikings, UL Arena-Limerick, 15:00;
Limerick Celtics v LIT, St Munchins, 18:00;
DBS Eanna v GameFootage.net Titans, Colaiste Eanna, 19:00;
EJ Sligo All-Stars v Abbey Seals Dublin Lions, Mercy College, 19:30;
KUBS BC v LYIT Donegal, Greendale, 17:00;
Sunday 30th December 2018
Basketball Ireland Men’s Division One:
Ulster University Elks v Bad Bobs Tolka Rovers, Ulster University Elks, 15:00;
Portlaoise Panthers v Tradehouse Central Ballincollig, St Marys Sports Hall, 15:30;
