Team Loftus Recycling, Ballina, suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of Maree, from Oranmore, in the National Basketball League in Calasanctius College, Oranmore, on Saturday night.
A very poor start by the visiting team saw Maree run up a 20 point lead early in the opening quarter, and while Loftus Recycling fought back they never recovered from their disastrous start and trailed by 21 points at half time with the score at 50-29. Scrappy play by the Ballina side resulted in numerous turnovers and Maree took full advantage. Loftus Recycling found it very difficult to cope with the tall and powerfully built Tomas Mitkus who had a game high of 23 points. The home team were also superior in their outside shooting hitting the target five times from outside the three point line while Ballina managed only two. In the third quarter Maree piled on the pressure and scored a further 20 points while the Mayo men could only manage 12. The game was effectively over as a contest at the three-quarter stage and Ballina player/coach Liam McHale used the final period to run his bench and give court time to his less experienced players.
Loftus Recycling: Liam McHale (12 ), Peter Papic (17 ), Ronan O’Malley (8 ). Maree: Tomas Mitkus (23 ) David Hansbury (15 ), Liam Conroy (13 ).
