Joe-Junior Mvuezolo scored a season-high 33 points as University of Galway Maree progressed to the InsureMyHouse.ie Pat Duffy National Cup semi-finals with a 92-77 win over Belfast Star on Saturday evening at Calasanctius College.
The home side delivered a 17-2 run to take the honours after the contest was finely poised at 75-73 with seven minutes remaining.
It has been nip-and-tuck in the opening quarter too with a handful of lead changes. The visitors had five different scorers in that period, with Conor Johnston and their leading scorer Chrishon Briggs drilling threes to end the quarter with a one-point advantage, shortly after Eoin Rockall delivered a fine triple down the other end.
Briggs finished with 32, while Rockall, who had 18 points, provided a notable influence for his teammates. Mvuezolo and Briggs recorded 10 in that frame - while others pitched in to avoid Galway being overwhelmed by a surge before the break with Cathal Finn completing a four-point play.
The game was tied at 32-apiece with 4:24 remaining, but again the visitors looked to use slick ball movement and clean looks to open up a commanding lead. However at half-time, they led by one after their danger man Briggs had the final say at the free-throw line himself with Mvuezolo penalised in the paint.
The back-and-forth nature of this contest continued after the restart, as Zvonimir Cutuk got his first points of the game - a rebound up one end, finish down the other, intricately created by Haines. Belfast then went on a 11-0 run, largely powered by Richardson and Briggs, before Gomez's quick hands in the paint - coupled with consecutive triples by Mvuezolo and Stephen Commins - saw the Belfast bench call a timeout.
The hosts a three-point lead before the final quarter, and although Briggs looked to end the period with aplomb,his dribble moves were thwarted by a diligent defence as Mvuezolo, Light and Commins all combined to stifle his attempt.
Rockall sealed a season-high 14 points in a quarter that saw the lead double to six, and despite Briggs' best efforts, it would soon worsen after a Maree timeout at 75-73. For all of Light's defensive nous, it was also great to see the New Yorker in possession during late-game situations.
He had ten fourth-quarter points - equalling his season high scoring tally - and was regularly directing decisions, whether off-ball or in possession during the final five minutes.
Mvuezolo and Rockall pitched in during a one-sided finish, with Belfast crucially worn down in attack. However, the visitors will be looking for revenge when the two sides meet again in Super League play on Saturday (7pm ) at Calasanctius College.
Scorers for University of Galway Maree: Joe-Junior Mvuezolo 33, Eoin Rockall 18, Stephen Commins 14, Zach Light 10, Jarett Haines 9, Cathal Finn 4, Zvonimir Cutuk 2, Rodrigo Gomez 2.
Scorers for Belfast Star: Chrishon Briggs 32, Max Richardson 18, Conor Quinn 13, Maximillan Cooper 6, Conor Johnston 4, Oisin Kerlin 2, Aidan Quinn 2.
University of Galway Maree: Starting line-up: Eoin Rockall, Rodrigo Gomez, Jarett Haines, Joe-Junior Mvuezolo, Zvonimir Cutuk. Bench: Cathal Finn, Stephen Commins, Ben Burke, Zach Light, Matthew Sweeney, Malik Thiam, Paul Freeman.
Belfast Star: Starting line-up: Conor Quinn, Aidan Quinn, Maximillian Cooper, Chrishon Briggs, Max Richardson. Bench: Jonathan James, Jack Summersgill, Conor Johnston, Patrick McGaharan, Liam Pettigrew, Oisin Kerlin.
