An Cearnog Nua, Moycullen marched into the quarter finals of the National Basketball Cup on Saturday with an impressive 70-51 win over a strong Neptune side in the Leitir Mór Sports Centre.

Moycullen now face a trip to Dublin on December 8th to face their conquerors from last year's league final, Tolka Rovers.

Cian Nihill was the Moycullen powerhouse with a game-high 32 points with James Loughnane also in great form at guard.

The home side were quickly into their stride with all five starters scoring and a big three-pointer from the impressive Glenn Hynes gave Moycullen a 19-18 lead at the end of the first quarter.

On the resumption, some fine defensive rebounding disrupted Neptune and Cian Nihill scored freely to leave Moycullen leading on a 40-28 score line at half time.

Ronan O'Sullivan and Jason O'Callaghan battled gamely for the Corkmen, but scores from Garnett Griffin and good work from the bench from Paul O'Brien and Eoghan Maxwell stretched Moycullen's advantage.

Coach Zbigniew Mardon ensured that Moycullen moved the ball patiently in the fourth quarter, restricting Neptune's chances and eventually easing to a 19 point win.

There was more good news for Moycullen on Sunday when the U20's also reached the quarter finals of their competition with an easy 73-35 victory over a limited Ballina Braves side.

Moycullen went into the game as hot favourites, but struggled to find their rhythm early on, relying on three-pointers from James Loughnane.

A grilling at quarter time from Coach Mardon had the desired effect and Dylan Cunningham added a three-pointer before Eoghan Maxwell and Paul O'Brien followed their impressive senior performances with some good scores. Cian Nihill got to the foul line on a regular basis and the game was over as a contest at half time with Moycullen leading 43-14.

Mardon emptied the bench in the second half and scores from seven different players saw Moycullen pull away to an emphatic 73-35 win.

The U20's now have a home quarter final on December 9th against either Maree or Limerick Lions.

Moycullen Seniors: Cian Nihill (32), John Cunningham(10), Garnett Griffin(9), James Loughnane(8), Glenn Hynes(5), Paul O'Brien(3), Eoghan Maxwell(2), Nollaig Cunningham(1), Dylan Cunningham, Stephen Tummon, David Lee, Tomas Gilson Coach: Zbigniew Mardon

Moycullen U20's: Cian Nihill(20), Paul O'Brien(14), James Loughnane(12), Dylan Cunningham(7), Stephen Tummon(7), Eoghan Maxwell(7), James Brophy(4), Tomas Gilson(2), David Lee, Neil Cantwell, Gerald Lyons, James O'Brien Coach: Zbigniew Mardon

Comments (0) »

Show/Hide comment form

Name

Email

Title

Comment

Write the displayed characters

Add Comment