Monks exorcised by Demons

Ballina 99 UCC Demons 112

UCC Demons all round strength and depth proved too much for Team Merry Monk as the Demons pulled away from the home side in the final quarter of this match before a large crowd in the Ballina Sports Centre.

The absence of Ronan McGarrity (abroad) and Paul Barrett (injured) was always going to make this a difficult game for Ballina and so it proved.

However, the home side put in a solid performance that kept them well in the game up the final period thanks to another huge performance by their American, Evan Pellerin, who clocked up a massive 45 points.

After Ballina getting the first few baskets, the Demons went into the lead after 2 minutes and led by 7 at the end of the period with most of their scores coming from American, Michael Doles.

In the second period, the sides were evenly matched and Ballina managed to cut the deficit to just 2 points at the break.

In the third quarter, both sides played some good basketball but some unforced errors and wayward passes cost Ballina dearly and allowed Demons extend their lead to 7 at the Three quarter stage.

The start of the final period saw the visitors pile on the pressure and they extended their lead to 13 within two minutes with a 3-point basket from Gary Johnson and two 3-pointers from James Whyte.

Merry Monk were struggling from then on as several Demons players landed baskets to leave them with a comfortable lead going into the final minutes despite two three pointers from Ballina guard, Steven Miles.