SSE Airtricity Moycullen will welcome a return home this weekend when they host UCC Blue Demons (7pm ).
After two successive losses in Dublin, Moycullen will enjoy home advantage at the NUIG Kingfisher in the hopes of closing the gap between themselves and and sixth-placed Demons.
Last weekend Moycullen lost out to DCU Saints by 77-74 in a game that went down to the wire. Showing tremendous heart in the fourth quarter to come back from a considerable margin, Moycullen's poor defence in the early stages of the game and a sloppy third quarter ultimately denied them the win.
It was a quick start to the game for Moycullen thanks to the great offensive play of Philip Lawrence-Ricks, who scored contested shots with ease and finished the quarter with 12 points. Moycullen guard Patrick Lyons also contributed on the offensive end, using the pick and roll to find his teammates and to create shots for himself. However DCU refused to back down and their big man Martin Provizors proved a handful inside, finishing the quarter with 10 points to close the gap to a single point, 23-22.
After a slow start to the second, Moycullen ignited their offence. Dylan Cunningham attacked the basket relentlessly, and Sean Candon grabbed some open three-pointers. However Moycullen began the third conceding two baskets in a row. Moycullen’s numerous turnovers and a long scoring drought allowed DCU to run away with the lead mid quarter. The loss of James Loughnane to ankle injury was also a major blow to Moycullen’s offence, as they went into the final quarter in arrears by 65-50.
However, thanks to the excellent all-around play of Paul Freeman, Moycullen recovered. It was a complete turnaround as they played great defence which translated into quick scores at the other end. Dylan Cunningham was in sync with Paul Freeman on offence, and in the last few moments of the game, Moycullen held the momentum. DCU, however, scored two baskets to put them ahead by three, and although Philip Lawrence-Ricks had the ball on the three-point line for the final shot, he narrowly missed at the buzzer.
