SSE Airtricity Moycullen host their first home game in their return to basketball's premier division when UCD Marian travel to the Kingfisher for Saturday's second round fixture (7pm ).
Moycullen will be looking to improve on their opening night performance which they lost to Killester by 72-64, but it was a game Moycullen will feel they left behind as a result of poor execution at times on offence, sloppy turnovers, and the inability to control their defensive boards.
The Moycullen men started in determined fashion on the defensive end and with new American player Andy Burns finding his range early, they established a slight lead mid way through the first quarter. However, Killester gradually got the scoreboard ticking over to narrow the game by quarter time to one point.
Referees began to take over the game in the second quarter and the stop-start play suited the Dublin team more than Moycullen. However the visitors were able to pick off some scores through Burns, who was ably assisted by young Kyle Cunningham and Stephen O’Brien, limiting Killester's lead to four points.
In a the third quarter Stephen Tummon terrorised Killester on the offensive boards and James Loughnane finished some nice moves to the basket to leave just three points between the teams, but worryingly for Moycullen foul trouble began to take its toll in the fourth quarter. With a number of players fouling out, Moycullen lost some fluidity from its offence, and the Dubliners were able to get the crucial scores when needed. While Moycullen battled down the stretch, Killester made their free throws to secure the win by seven points.
However there were many positives for Moycullen. Andy Burns had a solid debut for the westerners, and with further time to settle in, he is sure to be a real handful for opponents in this year's campaign.
Burns, Loughnane and Tummon had solid games, 17-year-old Kyle Cunningham made an impressive debut at premier league level, contributing solid defence and a nice scoring touch on the offensive end, while Joseph Tummon, another u-18 player from last year, also impressed in his premier league debut.
