Maree’s defence of the u- 18 men’s National Cup continued with a comprehensive 78-33 quarter-final win over Killester of Dublin in Calasanctius Gym on Sunday.
Maree will now meet St Vincent’s in the semi-final, while Lisburn and Templeogue will clash in the second.
Maree started the first quarter with an intense and aggressive defense, causing their Dublin visitors to turn the ball over outside the arc. Conor Foley hit the first of his six-for-six free throws as the pace of the Maree break and transition was too much for Killester. With Liam Conroy and Kenneth Hansberry each good for five, Maree led 14 -4 at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter saw Maree turn the screw, with wave after wave of fast breaks, and O’Hagan good for eight points and Foley for six. George Rahmani ripped a steal off a Killester defensive rebound and scored a big basket to stretch the Maree lead to 36 – 9.
By the end of the third the scoreline was 61 – 24 and there would be no way back for the Dubliners. O’Hagan finished top scorer with 21 points, Conroy hit 19, but it was Foley’s defence that was the performance of the tie.
Maree: George Rahmani (2 ), Colm O’Hagan (21 ), Evan Fahy, Ciaran Harte (4 ), Conor Foley (12 ), Brian Kelly (3 ), Colin Whelan (3 ), Liam Conroy (captain, 19 ), Donal Greene, David Burke, Con Crowley (6 ), Kenneth Hansberry (8 ).
