An Cearnog Nua, Moycullen 91
A Taste of Europe 89
An Cearnog Nua, Moycullen will hope that Saturday’s game was more a Christmas hangover than a New Year’s resolution as they struggled to an overtime victory over a gutsy Taste of Europe side.
Twice Moycullen put themselves in a position to win the game, establishing 14 and 15-point leads, only to allow their much improved guests a lifeline. They needed Cian Nihill and Nollaig Cunningham points to force overtime on the buzzer, and they rode their luck in overtime until A Taste of Europe eventually finished with four players after three of their starters fouled out.
It is not the way coach Mardon would have hoped to begin a crucial three-week portion of the season, but it will have hopefully proved good preparation for last night’s clash in Ballina and the two back to back Titans games. The first is on Sunday in the men’s National Cup semi-final, followed by a league clash the following week.
This New Year clash began with Moycullen quickly establishing control through Nihill and Garnett Griffin. However Sarunas Zvirblinskas battled manfully for the visitors and succeeded in hitting seven points to keep the deficit to nine, 22-13.
The second quarter followed a similar pattern. A Taste of Europe made an early run through Linas Mitkus, Zvirblinskas, and Giedrius Augustinivicius. However Moycullen weathered the storm and responded through an effective Paul O’Brien contribution and scores from Nihill and Griffin. With David Lee and Dylan Cunningham contributing off the bench, the lead had stretched to 14 points, 43-29 at the half, with little or no sign of the fireworks to come.
What looked like a routine victory was turned on its head in the third quarter. A Taste of Europe showed a huge hunger for the ball at both ends, while Moycullen were outmuscled and outrun. Zvirblinskas provided the spark, but all five on court for the Limerick team battled for the boards and ran the lanes. Garnett Griffin attempted to stem the tide, connecting on six points for the quarter, but A Taste of Europe narrowed the gap to 54-51.
Led by captain, Nollaig Cunningham, Moycullen extended their defence and forced a series of turnovers. Cunningham had three steals in a row and Mindaugus Kurcenkovas and James Loughnane converted to re-establish control. The gap quickly opened to 15 points and for a second time A Taste of Europe looked buried. However point guard Renars Uzraugs took over, and, despite good initial pressure from James Loughnane, Moycullen’s normally excellent defence collapsed. Moycullenfound themselves four points down with a minute to go, but to their credit, some solid defence and a pair of Cian Nihill scores cut the gap to two with 14 seconds left. Nollaig Cunningham was forced to take a three-pointer, and although the shot bounced off the rim, Nihill caught the rebound and shot as the game clock expired.
In overtime the teams went score for score until a three from Nihill opened a three-point gap. Augustinivicius responded for A Taste of Europe, but a late lay-up from Loughnane ensured Moycullen stole a 91-89 victory.
An Cearnog Nua, Moycullen: Cian Nihill (25 ), Garnett Griffin (21 ), Mindaugus Kurcenkovas (19 ), James Loughnane (8 ), Paul O’Brien (6 ), Eoghan Maxwell (4 ), Dylan Cunningham (4 ), Nollaig Cunningham (2 ), David Lee (2 ), James Brophy, Gerald Lyons, James O’Brien. Coach: Zbigniew Mardon.
A Taste of Europe: Renars Uzraugs (22 ), Giedrus Augustinivicius (19 ), Sarunas Zvirblinskas (18 ), Linas Mitkus (14 ), Vitalis Samsonovas (9 ), Marius Cepas (7 ), Andrius Gunta, Tomas Narkiewicz, Donatas Kalinskas, Damian Servatka. Coach: Marius Cepas.
