Henderson debut and Adon heroics power Neptune past Tralee
BASKETBALL ROUND-UP: Samuel Henderson, Neptune, Daniel Jokubaitis, Tralee Warriors. Picture: Jim Coughlan.
A two-week break and a new American signing both helped Neptune as they easily beat Tralee in Neptune. Sam Henderson who played for both Vincents and Templeogue last season made his debut for the Cork side and his energy and speed were both factors as Neptune relentlessly attacked Tralee.
The big difference though was Greg Adon’s masterclass as he scored 30 against his old team. Adon hit threes and tough fadeaways and once he started hitting, things escalated beyond Tralee’s reach very quickly. Neptune looked good and with the talent they have in their top rotation, they have the ability to drag themselves into the playoff race.
On the other end, it was a disappointing night for the Warriors, who maybe had a Cup hangover after last week’s big win over Killester. Irshaad Hunte had his worst outing of the year shooting 5/17, but it was an overall lack of energy for Tralee that cost them most. It’s something that can easily happen to a young team and John Dowling won’t overreact to a tough loss, but he’ll expect far more next week against Eanna. Tralee are at their best when they win the intensity battle, and this was far from that.
Demons responded well to Neptune’s win, with one of their own as they beat Sligo 104-88 on Sunday. New signings Tamyrik Fields and Jordan Washington were both on show, but it was the existing core that saw them past Sligo.
Tala Fam was at his energetic best with 22 points and 21 rebounds, while Demons also got important contributions from David Lehane, Daryl Cuff and James Hannigan. Jordan Washington showed glimpses of potential and Tamyrik Fields was solid without being spectacular. With a big game against Vincent’s next week, Demons will have their eyes set on getting off the foot of the table and start looking up at the playoff spots.
For their part, Sligo without John Carroll, shot the ball well in a high scoring first half, but their lack of depth killed them again as they got tired and shots fell short late on. They managed just 14 points in the fourth quarter, with six of them coming deep in garbage time. Worryingly for Sligo, the depth isn’t there and the body language didn’t look great as they fell away late on. Killester are in Sligo next weekend and will test that mettle again.
Killester parked their Cup disappointment in style as they hammered Star in the IWA 97-68. Star who have had a bad record of starting poorly, hit four early threes to go up 10 early, but once Killester got going there was no answer from Belfast. Killester’s issue this season has been health all along and this was their second week in a row with their full team.
The cup loss last week was too challenging given the lack of time together, but they had no issues on Saturday especially once Robert Braswell got hot in the first half, scoring 22. Killester will be a factor in the playoffs when healthy and Saturday was a great example of why. Star on the other hand will be more concerned that they let another massive deficit build.
Shane Bell and Roger Wilson work well within their team but on the road in a tough situation getting 11 and four from them respectively is a worry. Star’s other issue is an interesting one. They have so much depth that sometimes they have too many options to try and plug together, whereas other teams have a much more standard top 6-7 who know when they will be in and out of games.
A trip to St Paul’s is one of the tougher tests in the Super League and yet Glanmire came away with even more momentum, after an 88-54 win. Keeping St Paul’s to 11 in the second quarter and eight in the final ten minutes, is very impressive and Glanmire seem to be building for a major cup semi-final showdown with Killester.
With a home game against Cavan and then a Cork derby versus Brunell it looks like Mark Scannell’s side will be primed for Killester, who themselves were excellent again this weekend easily beating Cavan 107-76 behind 40 points from Sam Halby.
With just over 6 minutes to go in Coláiste Iosagain, Brunell were coasting up 20 (81-61). It was a great performance up to that point and they looked like they were going to coast home. Meteors to their credit fought back thanks in large part to Sarah Kenny and Hazel Finn and had the game back to four points before an Ava Walshe three put daylight between the teams with less than 30 seconds to go.
It was remarkably Brunell’s first points for over 5 minutes, during which Meteors had scored 16 unanswered points. The game showcased the best and worst of both teams, as Brunell should be more clinical than they have been this year, while Meteors are still not getting as much scoring production out of their Americans as many of the other top teams are.
UCD Marian got a key home win against St Vincents, with new American Bruce Saintilus shining with 28 points. An injury to Tanner Graham early in the first half will be a major concern for UCD, but they performed well overall with Saintilus and Mihael Linde combining for 55. With a Cup semi-final on the horizon, Marian will be sweating on the fitness of Graham who has been excellent so far this year.
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