Still within touching distance of a Super League play-off spot, Moycullen basketballers secured an important 87-71 victory against Dubliners KUBS at the weekend.
It was a satisfying, if not outstanding display from Moycullen against KUBS ,who have yet to register a win this season. While they played with plenty of spirit and kept close to Moycullen for two quarters, they eventually ran out of steam.
Moycullen guard Patrick Lyons said it was not their best performance of the season.
"We’re glad to come away with the win, and we’ll hopefully take this momentum into our next two games, which are important fixtures for us,” he said.
Moycullen now face a testing two weeks. They travel to take on second place Swords Thunder on Saturday, before welcoming cup champions Templeogue to NUIG on February 24. The results from these two games could determine if Moycullen's hopes of a play-off spot are on the cards or not.
Last weekend Moycullen started the game Saturday with a good intensity and pace, finding easy scores in transition and through effective ball movement.
KUBS, however, used their quickness off the dribble to find some early scores, and at the end of the first quarter, only a basket separated the teams - a 19-21 advantage in favour of Moycullen.
Moycullen’s superiority began to show in the second period, but a series of missed shots and poor communication on defence undid much of this work, and there was only a point between the sides at half-time. However they upped their defensive intensity in the third quarter, limiting KUBS to just nine points. Continued scoring from McGuire, and a deft touch around the basket from Patrick Lyons, kept Moycullen’s offence ticking over as they took a 15-point lead into the final quarter.
From there, Moycullen never looked back. The daylight between the sides allowed Moycullen to give significant court time to their younger team members, and to leave Dublin with a 16-point victory.
Moycullen : Brandon McGuire (29 ), Patrick Lyons (18 ), Paul Freeman (13 ), Dylan Cunningham (9 ), James Loughnane (8 ), Joseph Tummon (4 ), Paul Kelly (2 ), Connor Curran (2 ), Kyle Cunningham (2 ), Cian Nihill.
