BASKETBALL WEEKEND ROUND-UP:11890 KILLESTER began their Men's SuperLeague National Cup defence with a thumping win away to Moycullen in their quarter-final clash, while the second-round preliminary meeting between UL Eagles and Bord Gáis Neptune saw the Limerick side progress.
Last season’s National Cup hero Jermaine Turner was once again to the fore for Killester with 27 points as they produced a stunning 107-71 win away to Moycullen.
The home side’s hopes were dealt a further blow against a rampant Killester when they lost Cian Nihill in the third quarter with an ankle injury.
“I think our experience in the end was probably the key to the win,” said Killester head coach Mark Keenan.
“I am very pleased we held them to 71 points. We are not going to give the cup up easily. We had great performances across the board and it shows the strength of the squad with the likes of Paddy Kelly, Kieran O’Brien and Eric Westbrooks not available.”
UL Eagles’ American Cameron Mitchell produced a fine display, rounded off with 19 points and 10 rebounds, as his side saw off the challenge of Bord Gáis Neptune on a scoreline of 76-58.
“It was a really tough game and the intensity was higher than in the previous games this season,” said Mitchell.
“We played really good team defence and put in a vastly improved display than the one we produced against them in our last meeting.”
Meanwhile, in league matters, DCU Saints claimed their third successive victory away to Belfast Star but had to withstand a tense finale before securing the 91-88 win.
The Saints, who trailed by a solitary point at the break, turned the corner after the re-start with Mike Trimmer showing strongly.
Elsewhere, UCD Marian Head Coach, Fran Ryan, hailed the defensive part of his side’s game as they comfortably beat Ulster Elks by virtue of a 75-43 scoreline.
The students kept close tabs on Elks’ Ben De La Cruz and former UCD star Kevin Foley with the win helping to maintain the pressure on Northern Conference leaders 11890 Killester.
“One of our problems recently has been in defence but we put a huge amount of work into it and put on a great show against Elks,” said Ryan.
