A sense of excitment surrounds Moycullen basketball this week as the SuperLeague team prepares for a home National Cup quarter final and a chance to qualify for a first cup semi-final.
Moycullen have never enjoyed a home quarter-final and, with a win already this season over their opponents UCD Marian, there is a genuine feeling the Galway club could advance to the final four.
On this occasion the home venue will be Leitir Móir due to the unavailability of NUIG, but Moycullen have never lost a game in Spórtlann Mhichael Mhóir - their most recent win in 2010 when they beat Hoops of Dublin in a regular season SuperLeague game.
Despite entering this weekend’s cup fixture on the back of an 88-72 loss to UL Eagles in Limerick, Moycullen will feel confident that a similar display this Saturday could return better results.
Eagles are defending cup and league champions and are unbeaten this year on their home court, a fact that has seen them soar to the top of the Nivea For Men’s SuperLeague table once again.
The Galway men’s cause was not helped when their star American player Pat Sullivan, who currently leads the SuperLeague in scoring, was forced out of the game with a head injury early on.
Despite this blow, Moycullen battled with great spirit and even held the lead for large stretches of the first half. They continued to keep within touching distance until the closing seconds.
With three minutes to play, the scoreboard showed only six points between the sides and the most unlikely of upsets appeared a real possibility.
However Eagles showed their experience in the closing stretches, punishing Moycullen’s lack of size inside for crucial scores at the death. In the end Eagles ran out deserving winners by 16 points - although not a fair reflection of the game.
Moycullen: P O’Brien 16, S Camps 14, C Nihill 9, D Costelloe 7, P Sullivan 7, S Tummon 4, P Lyons 4, N Cunningham 4, I Burke 2, J O’Brien 1, M Rohan.
