Luke and Jack McLoughlin star as Summerhill end losing run

The McLoughlin brothers Luke and Jack starred as Summerhill College Sligo saw off brave Presentation Brothers Cork 72-54 in the Boys U16A All Ireland School Cup final yesterday.

The McLoughlins were full of hustle and Sean Snee and Jack Moran put in a huge amount of work to neutralise the threat of PBC’s Sean Jenkins. Shane Mooney and Oisin O’Reilly were the crowd pleasers through — Mooney with his big jumps, MVP O’Reilly with his peerless skill set and a game high 27 points.

“We’d been in three All-Irelands before this and we’d lost all three. We came in to this one with a different mindset and a different attitude,” said O’Reilly.

For Pres, Jenkins managed 24 points under high pressure and David Murray came into the game with good offensive rebounding.

Meanwhile, Aisling McCann put in a fine all-round performance as Muckross Park School won the Girls U19C title with a 54-46 win over J&M Gortnor Abbey. The MVP scored 27 points but also shut out J&M Gortnor Abbey on defence as basketball great Liam McHale tried to orchestrate a comeback for the Mayo girls.

Our Lady and St Patrick’s of Knock in Belfast held their nerve to beat Pres Athenry to the Boys U16B All-Ireland title 46-35. OLSPK’s Matthew Rooney scored the basket of the game — a penetrating drive in traffic with a left-handed finish.

The U16B Girls All-Ireland between Mercy Mounthawk of Tralee and St Louis Kiltimagh rounded off a run of 12 finals in three days at the National Basketball Arena.

Irish Internationals Maggie Byrne and Dayna Finn combined to lethal effect for Kiltimagh. Byrne dropped 17 points from the centre position while Finn hit 25 points on the fast break for a 69-16 win.