Overtime drama sees lowly Elks clip Eagles’ wings
Before this game UL had only lost to the cup champions, Killester, while Elks were looking for only their third win of the season. Maybe they had shown signs of causing a major upset when they pushed UCC Demons to three points a week earlier.
This time they did not let the game slip away from them and showed great courage under pressure. With 14 seconds on the clock they were trailing by three points but Dave Neal, who had an outstanding game, converted one of two from the line to reduce the margin to two and then, with eight seconds left he went to the line for two more to tie the game 79-79.
In a tense overtime period, Paul Cummins proved the hero with a lay-up in the closing moments to send the much beleaguered home support this season into raptures.
“It was brilliant,” said Elks head coach Deirdre Brennan. “It has been a rough journey, they are learning that if they play as a team they can beat the best in the country. Dave Neal did a fantastic job on Stuart Robbins but this was a complete team performance.”
UCC Demons and Neptune have been battling it out for the second spot behind UL in the Southern Conference and they had mixed fortunes on Saturday night when Neptune beat Belfast Star 90-83 and Demons lost to Hoops for the second time this season when they came out on the wrong side of a 78-72 scoreline.
Yesterday, however, Demons made up for that disappointment with a comprehensive 75-57 win away to Moycullen. Joshua Johnson hit 26 points for Demons as they revived their hopes of finishing second in the Southern Conference in advance of the play-offs.
It was a big win for Ahmad Smith’s Hoops who have been blowing hot and cold this season. When they were hot they roasted the likes of Demons and Killester and on Saturday night at the National Basketball Arena they bordered on brilliant.
They kept their composure under pressure in the closing stages and Carlton Aaron produced a superb display of rebounding (24 in total) while Jason Goldrick converted for their third win of the season.
“It was a tough game but the pleasing aspect was that we played well for the full 40 minutes,” said coach Smith. “We rebounded very well and we cut down on our turnovers which has been a problem this season.
“Too many times during this campaign we have competed for three quarters but we have shown with wins against the likes of Demons and Killester that we can compete with the best in the league when we maintain our focus.”
Killester are well on the way to securing the Northern Conference after a commanding 89-64 win over UCD/Marian in a repeat of the cup semi-final before a full house at the IWA in Clontarf.
Neptune recorded their third consecutive win with a hard fought 90-83 success over a Belfast Star side riding high in the Northern Conference. Star’s Kevin Ratzsch hit the game high with 38 points, while Juwann James was equally impressive for Neptune with a personal tally of 32 points.
“A lot of credit must go to Star for making this such a tough contest,” Neptune coach Pat Price said. “Kevin Ratzsch was impressive for Star and he is doing a good job for them.
“We are very pleased with this win. We weren’t too happy to give away 46 points in the first quarter but we tightened up after the restart. Our shooting wasn’t at its best but we still managed to get 90 points and it is a good win against a very good side.”
If Elks surprised Eagles in the Men’s SuperLeague, there was another major shock in the IrishSport.TV Women’s SuperLeague when Killester beat the newly crowned National Cup champions, DCU Mercy, 59-56.
Montenotte Hotel Cork, the defending champions, had to dig deep to hold off Seanie O’Regan’s young Bausch & Lomb Wildcats, 73-69, in a thriller in Waterford.
And while all this was happening UL, who lost narrowly to DCU Mercy in a thrilling cup semi final, kept the pressure on Team Montenotte with back to back victories over Sligo All Stars and Meteors
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
