Moycullen will be looking to find their shooting form when they entertain Superleague rivals UCC Demons at NUIG Kingfisher Gym on Saturday (7:30pm ).
Demons arrive having also lost last weekend, 75-84, when hosting Garveys Tralee Warriors, so there is much to play for in this early part of the season as teams try to establish some winning momentum.
Moycullen endured a tough shooting night last weekend, and left Kerry disappointed, but with no complaints after an 81 to 64 defeat against the new entrants Killorglin.
Killorglin, playing their first home game in Irish Basketball’s Superleague, played with the energy and desire one would expect on such an occasion. Having started the season with back-to-back to wins, the league’s newest squad are also its leaders.
However, Moycullen played their part in a hugely entertaining contest that was really only decided in the closing minutes. Unfortunately, the visitors simply could not find their shooting touch on a night when they created ample scoring opportunities to have earned a victory.
“The result doesn't reflect the effort,” said a frustrated Moycullen head coach John Cunningham.
“After struggling to score early, we battled very hard and got it back to three midway through the fourth, but we're just not capitalising enough on the scoring chances we're creating. That punishes you at this level,” he added.
In front of a sold-out Killorglin Sports Complex crowd, the home side was quick out of the gates, with American superstar Pierre Newton providing most of the scores.
Newton’s Moycullen counterpart, Maryland native Isaiah Harris Winn, continued his solid start to the season, and his scoring in the opening quarter helped keep Moycullen in touch early on. Worryingly for Moycullen, however, no other player seemed able to get into scoring rhythm in the first half.
To their credit, the Galway men fared much better in the second half.
Led by captain Paddy Lyons, who finished the game on 12 points, Moycullen looked likely to turn the game in the third period with some strong defensive play, leading to fastbreak points against a tiring Killorglin outfit.
But the Kerry men, buoyed by their vocal home support, found another gear in the fourth. Fast break scores and offensive rebounds gave them enough breathing space to quell the Moycullen comeback, and secure the victory.
Meanwhile, local rivals Maree suffered a second defeat when hosting their first Superleague fixture of the season at Calasanctius College. The Oranmore side went down 62-76.
Moycullen Scorers: Isaiah Harris Winn (24 ), Patrick Lyons (12 ), Joseph Tummon (12 ), Paul Kelly (4 ), Kyle Cunningham (4 ), Dylan Cunningham (4 ), Connor Curran (3 ), Cian Nihill (2 ), James Lyons, Josh Marvesley.
Titans asketball
The youngest team in the National League, Titans, played their first away match against Letterkenny IT, and despite a close fixture, they eventually lost 115-110.
Led by American Tom Rivard, and backed up by 16-year-old Irish International, Malik Thiam, they edged the first quarter 22-20.
Letterkenny took the lead by half time, 53-50 with Eoin Coughlan knocking n some fine three pointers to keep Titans in the game. Mark Devaney-Wynne put in some solid minutes, and tenacious Kelvin Atu never let up throughout the entire game.
But with only seven players, fatigue started to set in, and Letterkenny grabbed a 14-point lead early in the fourth. However Ben Kelly led the charge with the Titans going two points up with only seconds to go. However, when the game went into overtime, Titans could not come away with a win, losing 115-110. Titans now play Dublin visitors KUBS in the Jes on Sunday at 3pm.
Titans: Matthew Sweeney 38, Tom Rivard 36, Eoin Coughlan 16, Ben Kelly 9, Malik Thiam 4, Mark Devaney-Wynne 4, Kelvin Atu 3.
