SSE Airtricity Moycullen head to Cork on Sunday expecting a battle royal with UCC Demons, regarded as one of Ireland's Superleague powerhouses.
Interestingly, both sides are sitting on the same points on the league table, although the Cork side has a game in hand, but on this occasion Moycullen head to Parochial Hall (3pm ) on the back of a fine run of form.
While Demons lost to league leaders Templeogue by 81-70 last weekend, Moycullen saw off Commercial.ie Eanna by 73-60 with five U20 players on court.
Played in the Jes, this game started slowly as both sides looked unsettled and tentative, and struggled to convert scoring opportunities. Phil Lawrence-Ricks eventually got Moycullen off the mark, before Patrick Lyons and Paul Freeman added scores. Although Éanna took a narrow lead, Dylan Cunningham took control for Moycullen, scoring eight points to give his team a 16-10 lead.
Cunningham’s scoring outburst continued into the second quarter, while defensively, Moycullen looked solid, with Cunningham's younger brother Kyle continuing with the relentless pressure on the Éanna guards, forcing mistakes. The Galway side picked up some easy scores, and on one fast-break, Lawrence-Ricks threw down a thunderous one-handed dunk, which brought the packed Jes gym to its feet.
Moycullen extended the lead to 38-23 at half time, and never looked back. Each time the Dubliners managed to run a successful offence, Moycullen responded at the opposite end. Lyons, Lawrence-Ricks and Freeman provided the baskets as Moycullen pushed their lead out to 18 points.
In the fourth quarter Éanna managed to cut Moycullen’s lead down to 11 points before a big three-point shot from Dylan Cunningham put Moycullen out of reach. It enabled Moycullen to finish the game with an U20 five of Kyle Cunningham, John Hackett, Ladmy Sila, Conor Curran and Joseph Tummon - a group with an average age of 18.
SSE Airtiricty Moycullen: Philip Lawrence-Ricks, Dylan Cunningham, Patrick Lyons, Paul Freeman, James Loughnane, John Hackett, Conor Curran, Joseph Tummon, Kyle Cunningham, Ladmy Sila. Coach, John Cunningham; asst coach, Gerald Lyons.
