Moycullen basketball, still in the hunt for the top spot in their National League division, face another old rival on Sunday.
AOL Waterford are next up to face Moycullen at 3pm in NUIG Kingfisher Sports Center before a home cup quarter-final the following weekend against last year’s quarter-final opponents, Longford Falcons.
In addition the club’s u-20s are in action on Friday night at 8pm in NUIG in the first game in defence of the u-20 cup. They face last year’s u-18 cup winners and local rivals, Maree, and once again a classic local derby is expected between these great rivals.
The club will be hoping for more success to add to their recent victories. The u-14 boys added a second Cork County Board title to the u-13 won last season, while the u-18 boys, disappointed with an early departure from the “group of death” in the u-18 Cup, clinched the National Shield.
The senior outfit recorded another fine victory to keep them well placed for a home quarter-final. The victims this week were Sligo, and although the two sides have produced many fine battles in the past, Saturday’s National League fixture failed to live up to those heights.
Despite a battling first half from Sligo, the result was rarely in doubt, and, in the end, the margin of 40 points was not in any way unreflective of the Moycullen dominance.
After a defeat in Longford the previous night, Sligo were a bit slow out of the blocks while An Cearnog Nua, Moycullen almost seemed too anxious to run their opponents off the court. The result was a slow pace from the visitors and a series of turnovers from the home team. Moycullen struggled to contain Sligo’s one-two punch in the paint, and the experienced pair of Fergal Kelly and Shane O’Meara as the teams traded baskets in the first quarter. The quarter ended at 13-13.
However Moycullen improved in the second, maintaining the tempo while also controlling the ball much better. As Sligo’s zone struggled with Moycullen’s ball movement, the scores began to flow. Seven players scored for Moycullen in the quarter and despite a good effort from JB Coyle, the home team had established a nine-point lead at the half, 37-28.
The third quarter finally saw Moycullen’s trademark defence come to the fore. They shut down the Sligo offence, limiting them to nine points, while at the other end stretched the lead quickly. Three late John Cunningham baskets pushed the gap to 18 points, 55-37.
The final quarter was a rout as the younger Moycullen players went to work. The Sligo trio of McMorrow, O’Meara and Kelly shared 12 points between them, but it did little to stop the rot. Cian Nihill connected on three three-pointers, Mindaugus Kurcenkovas and Paul O’Brien shared 12 points, while David Lee and Gerald Lyons did a solid job on their introduction, with Lyons nailing a long three-pointer to end the scoring, 88-49.
