Garvey’s Tralee Warriors recorded a huge 77-68 victory over Griffith College Templeogue in the Sports Complex in Tralee on Saturday. In a much-anticipated game, Tralee came into the game with a record of 2-2 while Templeogue were 2-1. Tralee’s Johnathan Lawton put up an impressive 20-point display in front of the home crowd. Eoin Quigley and Paul Dick supported Lawton with 16 and 15 points respectively. Templeogue were led by last year’s Player of the Year Jason Killeen who had 17 points in what was a thrilling game throughout.
End Q3 Men's Super League it's @warriors_bc 64 @templeogue_bc 49 #ThisIsSuper pic.twitter.com/BCcSvP2ftk
— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) October 19, 2019
After the game, Tralee head coach Pat Price said, “Offensively it was difficult for both teams to get into a flow but we felt that our defence would be able to help create some offence with forcing turnovers. We’re happy to get through a game that lacked flow against a team that are as good as Templeogue.”
UCD Marian emerged victorious, 77-89 over Maree in a game that saw the lead change multiple times for stretches during the game. UCD got off to a hot start through scores from Aidan Dunne before Maree took the lead just before the end of the first half. The third quarter saw Maree take the lead for a period as they made consecutive scores forcing UCD to call two timeouts. Darin Johnson and Eoin Rockall made some impressive scores for Maree before UCD took over towards the end of the game, behind 23 points from Mike Garrow, to carry out the victory.
Speaking after the game, UCD Marian head coach Ioannis Liapakis said, “It’s always tough to come to Maree so we knew it was going to be a difficult game. We controlled the first quarter and in the second they switched to a zone which gave us some problems but we managed to find the answers and come away with the win.”
Elsewhere in the league, an impressive 25-point performance from CJ Fulton led Belfast Star to a 76-68 victory over Moycullen in Belfast. The game was close throughout with Moycullen’s Grant Olsson finishing with 24 points as Star pulled away towards the finish.
Pyrobel Killester recorded a narrow 67-70 over winless Abbey Seals Dublin Lions in a Dublin derby. Killester were led by Tomas Fernandez who finished with a massive 27 points. Killester’s Antonio Odunuga suffered an injury before the game, leaving them down a player. Lions were led by Conroy Baltimore with 17 points as they are still in search for their first win of the season.
Finally, DCU Saints defeated Keane’s SuperValu Killorglin 85-70 behind a 21-point performance from Michael Bonaparte. Killorglin’s Allan Thomas led his side with 26 points as they tried in vain to chase DCU’s lead after a scoring run in the second half.
In the Women’s Super League, DCU Mercy continued their unbeaten run, defeating IT Carlow Basketball 56-89 in a comprehensive victory. Sarah Woods finished with 25 points for DCU, with Meredith Burkhall following closely behind her with 20 points. Carlow were led by Kaitlyn Slagus who finished with 25 points also. DCU held a 26-42 lead at half time and did not let the game slip away as they maintained their lead through the second half. DCU’s victory leaves Carlow without a win yet this season.
Speaking after the game, DCU Mercy head coach Mark Ingle said, “It was a good team performance from us with some balanced scoring. We executed quite well against their zonal defence and we’re happy with the win."
Elsewhere in the league, Fr Mathews defeated Ambassador UCC Glanmire, 65-79 in the Cork derby on Friday evening. Mathews’ Shannon Brady and Grainne Dwyer combined for 51 points, while Shrita Parker had 17 points for Glanmire in a losing battle.
WIT Wildcats defeated Pyrobel Killester 71-66 to continue their good start to the season. Stephanie O’Shea chimed in for Wildcats with 18 points while Killester’s Adella Randle El contributed 23 points for her side. Wildcats held the same five-point advantage at half time that they did at full time in what was a close affair.
Defending champions Liffey Celtics defeated Singleton SuperValu Brunell 76-70, led by Americans Kylee Smith and Darby Maggard who combined for a massive 54 points, while Brunell’s leading scorer was Greta Tamasanskaite with 17 points. Liffey had a slim 37-36 advantage at half time before maintaining that lead in the second half.
Finally, Maree continued their good start to their debut season, with a 54-73 victory over Marble City Hawks. This win leaves Hawks winless so far this season after an impressive game from Maree’s Aine McDonagh who finished with 18 points.
