Garvey’s Tralee Warriors have suffered their first defeat of the season in the Men’s Super League, 98-90 at EJ Sligo All-Stars.
Alan Cantwell reports
It took eight rounds of games in the Basketball Ireland Mens Super League season for Garvey’s Tralee Warriors to finally surrender their unbeaten record when they succumbed to EJ Sligo All-Stars by 98-90 at the Mercy College in Sligo on Saturday night. Playing without the services of Mark Stephens through suspension and Greg Adon through injury it always promised to be a tricky assignment against a Sligo side that edged the corresponding fixture last season by 102-101 in an overtime thriller.
It was the home side that made the early running after Warriors Brandon Mahan had opened the scoring with Irish international John Carroll combining with new recruit Robert Montgomery with a basket each and an 8 point volley from Jevonnie Scott giving Sligo an 11-2 lead. Daniel Jokubaitis and Rap Buivydas cut the gap to 5 but Montgomery with two efforts from outside pushed the hosts 17-6 ahead. It sparked a Warriors response from Jokubaitis and Mahan with threes and Buivydas and Quigley from close range, cutting the gap to a single point. Sligo eased ahead again through Scott and Harry Gent but Steven Bowler and Jokubaitis were in range late on to cut the Sligo lead to 24-23 at quarter time.
Sligo’s propensity to shoot from distance saw Tom Child and Montgomery on the mark early in the second but at the other end Rap Buivydas was putting on a one-man offensive show hitting 10 points including a three and one of his trademark reverse lay-ups to see the Warriors lead 35-33 for the first time since Mahan’s opening score. The sides went basket for basket before Jevonnie Scott and Brown combined either side of Tom Child’s second major of the night and despite James Fernane landing his first score from outside, Sligo took a 51-46 lead to the long break.
Sligo took the initiative in the third and an 18 point scoring spree threatened to settle the contest early. John Carroll was unstoppable at the board and a 10 point haul for him added to by scores from Scott and Brown had the hosts 69-54 up midway through the quarter. The Warriors response came in the form of two threes from Mahan but the visitors were struggling from three point territory and when Child and Scott were again on the mark from distance the hosts maintained their sizable lead. However, the Warriors rallied and Cian Sullivan dropped in his second of the game before a Jokubaitis three and another typical Buivydas effort cut the gap to 80-71 at three quarter time.
Brown and Scott added to restore Sligo’s double digit lead early in the final quarter but two lights out efforts from Mahan and another tough finish from Buivydas saw the Warriors right back in the game trailing by 86-82 midway through the quarter. With the game in the balance Sligo stepped up to drive for home with American Jonathan Brown landing a double either side of a mid-range effort from Child to put 8 between the teams. Mahan twice bravely drove through the Sligo defence to keep the Warriors hopes alive but a quick double from Sligo’s new signing Robert Montgomery sealed the deal to see out the 98-90 in the end.
EJ Sligo All-Stars: Jonathan Brown 23, Jevonnie Scott 21, Robert Montgomery 19
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Brandon Mahan 27, Daniel Jokubaitis 23, Rap Buivydas 21
Flexachem KCYMS defeated Bright St. Vincent’s 103-72.
Ger Nolan reports
Team Flexachem KCYMS welcomed Bright St.Vincents of Dublin to the Killorglin Sports Complex on Saturday evening, with the Dublin outfit arriving on the back of two wins, while the
home side were hoping to put an end to a four game losing streak.
The game started well for Team Flexachem with three point scores from Eche Okeke, Beni Fungala and Clay Ladine, while St.Vincents had only a two point sore from Jaron Thames in
return. Team Flexachem went on to score well and by quarters end had racked up seven 3 pointers along with inside scores by big centre Nath Powell, which had them ahead on a scoreline of 34 to 18 by the end of the first quarter.
By the end of the second quarter excellent offensive and defensive play saw home team extend their lead to 21 points at 58 to 37.
Again, in the 3rd quarter, a very disciplined and determined performance saw the Launesiders push their lead to 23 points at 80 to 57.
The 4th quarter was a case of cruise control for Team Flexachem and with 3 minutes left they ran the bench, thus giving valuable Superleague experience to local players Conor Murphy and the Buckley brothers, Conor and Killian. Colm Blount rounded off the scoring for Team Flexachem with a 5 point contribution, leaving the final score at Team Flexachem 103-Bright St.Vincents 72.
Best for Team Flexachem were Eche Okeke on 29,Beni Fungala 21,Clay Ladine 17 and Jordon Blount on 12.
In Men’s Division One Scotts Lakers Killarney beat Moycullen 84-77.
Enda Walsh reports
Killarney Cougars lost 100-64 at Tipp Talons.
Top scorers
Killarney Cougars
Joshua Strongman 21
Kani Glover 18
Gerdas Malukas 10
Tipp Talons
Shemarri Miles 32
Miles Felletti 20
Sammy Bah 13
Utility Trust St.Pauls are away to Galway Mystics today in the Women’s Super League, tipping off at 12.30.
The Men’s Super League at 2 has Team Flexachem KCYMS away to Neptune.
Basketball Ireland weekend review:
FloMAX Liffey Celtics, SETU Waterford Wildcats and defending champions, Killester remain deadlocked at the top of the Women’s Super League table after all three teams carded wins on Saturday night, while Men’s Super League leaders, Garvey’s Tralee Warriors suffered their first reversal of the 2024/25 season after they went down 98-90 against EJ Sligo All-Stars in Mercy College.
SETU Waterford Wildcats came through a huge test at home against Trinity Meteors, running out 91-86 winners in Mercy College, to keep pace with Killester and FloMAX Liffey Celtics at the top of the Women’s Super League table.
Deadlocked with just under three minutes remaining, this battle saw Waterford demonstrate great resolve down the stretch as Sarah Hickey, Ashia McCalla and Chelsea Cain served up late buckets to help see their side over the line.
All three players, along with Kate Hickey, exceeded 20 points, with Sarah Hickey and Cain soaking up a total of 25 rebounds, as Wildcats survived in the face of tenacious Trinity who were fuelled largely by the combined 57 points that Morgan Lenahan, Grace Prenter and Emma Merriweather totalled in this fixture.
“We’re delighted to get the win on home soil” said Wildcats head coach, Jillian Hayes. “It was a really tough game of basketball that came down to the wire.
“I wasn't happy with our defensive performance tonight. We’re better than that, but we had a couple of players really step up in the last few minutes to get it over the line for us, with four players all having over 20 points. We’ll take it and hopefully improve defensively for next week” she added.
FloMAX Liffey Celtics may not have been at their best offensively, but they still did enough to record a 67-49 victory over Women’s Super League rivals, Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell in Leixlip on Saturday night.
Alexis Tucker and Eboni Williams managed 28 points between, but it was defence that really won this game for the Kildare side, Rachel Huijsdens, along with the aforementioned American pair, delivering a big display under the boards, despite Deaja Richardson top-scoring on 25 for the visitors.
Defending champions, Killester confined Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers to a mere 18 points over the middle two quarters to exert a tight grip on their clash, running out 76-55 victors in St. Mary’s Hall on Saturday night.
Just a solitary point separated the two sides at the close of the first quarter, but by the start of the fourth, that gap had swollen to 29, the Dublin side finishing with four players in double figures, including top scorer, Ieva Bagdanaviciene on 23.
The Address UCC Glanmire lead the chasing pack after they recorded a 76-56 road win over Catalyst Fr. Mathews.
Callie Cavanaugh emerged the game’s top scorer on 26, with Aine McKenna and Annaliese Murphy tagging on a further 33 as Glanmire carded their third win of the campaign.
University of Galway Mystics were left rooted to the foot of the table after they suffered an 85-65 reversal at the hands of Utility Trust St. Paul’s in Sunday’s clash in University of Galway Kingfisher.
Megan Ormiston and Gracen Kerr, together, delivered a 51-point haul for the visitors, the two also combining with Mathilde Diop to soak up 34 rebounds on the day.
The first round of fixtures in another double-game weekend in the Men’s Super League served up a shock result as EJ Sligo All-Stars inflicted, on Garvey’s Tralee Warriors, their first loss of the season, Shane O’Meara’s men running out 98-90 winners in Mercy College on Saturday night.
Despite Brandon Mahan hitting a game-high 27 points for the current leaders, who were shorn the services of American point guard, Marquavian Stephens, the hosts held out, with five players in double figures, including Jonathan Brown and Jevonnie Scott on a total of 44.
“We were delighted to get over the line against Tralee” smiled Shane O’Meara, EJ Sligo head coach. “They came ready to play despite missing Stephens, but we had a great spread of scoring with selfless play, along with a very frugal defence.
“We've had a few losses that we felt we left behind this year and hopefully tonight is the kick-start to a better run of form for us” he added.
O’Meara’s men did, indeed, follow up that major scalp with a 90-86 road win against UCD Marian on Sunday afternoon.
Lovre Tvrdic put up a game-high 35 points for UCD, but it was not enough to swing the tie the way of the Dublin outfit, as Jevonnie Scott, again, delivered another big performance for Sligo with 30 points and nine rebounds, while John Carroll and Robert Montgomery chipped in with a further 40, together with 17 wins under the boards.
For the third game in succession, Griffith College Éanna were taken to overtime and prevailed, two of those wins coming against Belfast Star, whom they edged out 103-100 in Newforge Sports Complex on Saturday night.
The defending champions saw the 13-point advantage they enjoyed early in the fourth quarter wiped out, as Belfast drew level at 91-91 only to be pipped in overtime, during which Kristijan Andabaka hit six points.
Belfast did bounce back from that agonising defeat with an 86-65 victory over Templeogue in De la Salle College the following day, five players ending the tie in double digits for the hosts, including Maurice Jones and Maximillian Cooper who each served up 16.
UCC Demons followed up on Saturday’s 102-86 success against the struggling Templeogue in the National Basketball Arena with a 96-82 triumph at home to Maree in Mardyke Arena on Sunday.
Elijah Tillman delivered big again for the Cork side with a huge 37 points and 12 rebounds, while Tobias Christensen’s intensity under the boards also featured heavily in this encounter as he registered 16 rebounds and seven assists against a Maree team, for whom Jarett Haines put up 27 points.
Having ended a run of four straight defeats in the top tier with a 103-72 success against Bright St. Vincent’s in Killorglin Sports Complex on Saturday night, Flexachem KCYMS followed that up with a 77-74 success away to Energywise Ireland Neptune on Sunday.
Finding themselves 11 points down late in the third quarter, the visitors recovered strongly to make it back-to-back wins, Beni Fungula and Clayton Ladine serving up a combined 41 points, while Jordan Blount claimed 12 defensive boards on his way to a total of 14 rebounds against a Neptune side that had also lost out to Killester 98-67 at home the previous night.
It was a productive double-game weekend for Killester as they put both Energywise Ireland Neptune and Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU to the sword to keep themselves in among the top four teams.
In Men’s Division One, Tipp Talons finally got off the mark following their emphatic 100-64 victory over Killarney Cougars in Scoil Ruain on Saturday night. ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers edged a 96-93 win away to Drogheda Wolves in Ballymakenny College to remain top of the North Conference, while South Conference leaders, Limerick Celtics stormed to a 94-52 victory over Titans BC in Crescent College on Sunday.
Moy Tolka Rovers emerged 112-87 winners over Joels Dublin Lions in Coláiste Bríde, while Scotts Lakers Killarney carded an 84-77 triumph at home to Maigh Cuilinn. Limerick Sport Eagles returned home from Carrickpherish Hall celebrating a 92-81 win over SETU Waterford Vikings, while Mater Private Malahide saw off Ulster University 84-73 and Team NorthWest battled back from 13 points down to beat Carrick Cruisers 76-69 in ATU Donegal.
Moy Tolka Rovers picked up their second win in Women’s Division One as they saw off Templeogue 81-74 at home on Saturday night. iSecure Swords Thunder returned to winning ways in the league as they chalked up a 72-64 success over Limerick Celtics in ALSAA, while Cleveland Rockets prevailed 75-68 at home to Limerick Sport Huskies in Lisburn.
Results
Women’s Super League
Saturday November 16th
Catalyst Fr. Mathews 56-76 The Address UCC Glanmire
SETU Waterford Wildcats 91-86 Trinity Meteors
FloMAX Liffey Celtics 67-49 Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell
Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers 55-76 Killester
Sunday November 17th
University of Galway Mystics 65-85 Utility Trust St. Paul’s
Men’s Super League
Saturday November 16th
Templeogue 86-102 UCC Demons
Belfast Star 100-103 Griffith College Éanna
Flexachem KCYMS 103-72 Bright St. Vincent’s
EJ Sligo All-Stars 98-90 Garvey’s Tralee Warriors
Energywise Ireland Neptune 67-98 Killester
Sunday November 17th
Energywise Ireland Neptune 74-77 Flexachem KCYMS
UCC Demons 96-82 Maree
UCD Marian 86-90 EJ Sligo All-Stars
Belfast Star 86-65 Templeogue
Killester vs Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig @MTU
Fixtures
Women’s Super League
Saturday November 23rd
Utility Trust St. Paul’s vs Midlands Park Portlaoise Panthers, Aura, 1600
FloMAX Liffey Celtics vs Catalyst Fr. Mathews, Leixlip Amenities, 1900
Sunday November 24th
University of Galway Mystics vs SETU Waterford Wildcats, University of Galway Kingfisher, 1300
The Address UCC Glanmire vs Killester, Mardyke Arena, 1330
Gurranabraher Credit Union Brunell vs Trinity Meteors, Gurranabraher Credit Union Parochial Hall, 1445
