Kearney on fire as Limerick Celtics shoot down Tralee Warriors
Philip Kearney scored 21 points for Limerick Celtics. Pic: Shauna Clinton/Sportsfile
A game-high 21 points from Philip Kearney proved far too hot for a Tralee Warriors side who never looked comfortable, turning the ball over on too many occasions.
Instead it was Limerick Celtics who laid the foundations for this big win in the opening half of this Super League contest as Tralee Warriors lost their unbeaten home record.
It was a night when offensively Warriors found it difficult to score and defensively they had no answers to the three point shooting of Tony Hehir’s side. Power forward Philip Kearney sank four three pointers in a first half that saw Celtics retire 46-32 in front.
A 14-point lead did not appear on the cards in the opening minutes as Warriors made the quicker start as they drained three from outside the arc, one from Alec Millender and a brace from Daniel Jokubaitis as they raced 9-4 in front with Sebastian Cole and Tiras Morton replying for Celtics.
Another deuce from Eoin Quigley and a three from Millender saw Warriors move 14-8 in front but Celtics began to hurt Warriors, Kearney inspiring his side with a slam dunk on a fast break.
In the final five minutes of the opening quarter Celtics took over with a mix of run and gun basketball and some accurate shooting from outside the perimeter.
Kearney drained a three, Ruairi Cronin came in and sank a deuce while Peter Turay scored three baskets with Liam O’Rahilly replying with a three just before the end of the quarter. Celtics were 27-19 clear at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter followed a similar pattern to the first with Celtics winning rebounds at both ends and it was left to young Ryan Sheehy to prevent the visitors from building an unassailable lead, with two threes while Millender added another. But just as it appeared that Warriors were going to make a fist of it, Kearney broke Tralee hearts with a three from outside the perimeter in quick succession and Celtic’s half time lead was 14.
Ryan Sheehy drained another three, his fourth but Kearney and Finn Hughes sank threes to end any hope of Warriors comeback.
The more the quarter wore on the wider the gap grew as Warriors struggled under both boards and a three from Hughes plus five points from Callum Keys off the bench saw Celtics move out of sight despite a Liam O’Rahilly three, it was 68-46 at the end of the third.
To Warriors' credit they never gave up and though they trailed by 81-54 midway through the final quarter, three pointers from Millender, Keelan Crowe, and a brace of threes from Olaf Michalczuk reduced the deficit to 15, there was no way back for the Warriors as Limerick Celtics gained a psychological advantage as they meet in the Crescent Community School in the National Cup on Sunday week, November 8th.
P Kearney 21, F Hughes 14, C Keyes 12
A Millender 20, R Sheehy 12, E Quigley
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