Moycullen basketballers come good in thrilling tie

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Written by Administrator

Wednesday, 10 January 2007

In a thrilling finish to another classic Moycullen-Castleisland encounter, Moycullen came from three down with less than a minute to play to win by four.

Moycullen 74 Team Garveys Castleisland 70

The large home attendance nearly brought the roof down as first Cian Nihill hit a three from the corner to tie the game, then Nollaig Cunningham forced a steal and a patient offence saw Fergal McAndrew nail another three to put them three ahead.

Then another great defensive sequence saw Moycullen get the ball back and Michael Dowd hit the clinching free throw to seal a vital victory.

The win had a double significance as it was their second win over Castleisland which means that, were they to finish level on points at the end of the season, Moycullen now hold the tiebreaker.

Next up for Moycullen is a game in Killanin on Saturday week, January 20th at 7 pm against Limerick Lakers.

On Saturday it was obvious that Castleisland were up for the game from the beginning. Obviously still hurt by the hammering they received on their previous visit, they weren't going to cave in this time. Dan Griffin hit two early scores for them and, at the other end, they gave nothing easy with seven of Moycullen's first thirteen points coming from the free throw line.

Indeed, excellent free throw shooting was to prove a major factor in Moycullen's win as they hit 19 of 24 over the course of the game. Cian Nihill was in good form early and he hit a three to give Moycullen a 16-13 lead. However, the impressive Liam Brosnan responded with two scores to see the gap reduce to two, 19-17 at quarter time.

The second quarter see-sawed one way and then the other as both teams played some excellent basketball. Castleisland's twin threat at the guard position, Declan Wall and Liam Brosnan were proving a real handful with Brosnan in particular hitting some incredible scores. For Moycullen, Nihill continued to clock up the points while Adrian Walsh came off the bench to hit a big three and another inside basket. The game was tied at 36 all when Brosnan scored another tremendous basket under extreme pressure on the buzzer to give the away team a two point half time lead.

Moycullen have produced a number of big third quarters over the last number of seasons and they did it again on Saturday. A change of approach on their man defence saw then shut down the threat of Brosnan and Wall. At the other end, their offence began to flow smoothly with Adrian Walsh hitting three superb three pointers from the outside and John Cunningham connecting on a pair of inside scores. Nihill chipped in with a couple of baskets and Fergal McAndrew added two more.

By the end of the quarter, Moycullen had established a five point lead, 56-51 and looked poised for victory. However, there was more to come from Castleisland. Brosnan came back into the game and hit four early points while Wall connected on a free throw and a three pointer to give them a one point lead, 59-58. A three and a pair of free throws from the excellent Nihill restored Moycullen's lead but Castleisland responded again with a Declan Culhane score and yet another three from Wall.

Maurice Casey then hit a basket to give Castleisland the lead and when Wall hit a stunning floater on the baseline, the game looked up for Moycullen, four points down, 70-66 and only ninety seconds remaining. However, they didn't panic and after a free throw from Adrian Walsh, Cian Nihill showed his class, levelling the game with a three from the right corner. A great combined defensive play from Nollaig Cunningham and Michael Dowd resulted in a Castleisland turnover and another patient offense resulted in Fergal McAndrew getting open on the three point line and the ice-cool McAndrew knocked down the shot with less than 20 seconds remaining. Another steal saw a foul on Michael Dowd and he sealed a fantastic four point win, 74-70.

This was a tremendous win for Moycullen. Castleisland arguably played as well as they ever have against them and it took everything they had to claim the victory. Two factors contributed most to Moycullen's victory. Firstly, they proved a little bit deeper than Castleisland as they used ten players throughout the course of the game -- all of whom made a valuable contribution.

Also, they shot 75% from the free throw line - punishing any fouls given up by Castleisland.

Moycullen: Cian Nihill(25), Adrian Walsh(17), Fergal McAndrew(10), John Cunningham (9), Michael Dowd(5), Nollaig Cunningham(4) , Glenn Hynes(2), James Loughnane(2), Gearoid Hynes, David Keane, Kevin Folan. Coach: Gerry Nihill, Assistant Coach: Haulie Dowd

Team Garveys, Castleisland: Declan Wall(22), Liam Brosnan(18), Dan Griffin(8), Michael Broderick(8), Declan Culhane(5), Ruari Rahilly(4), Maurice Casey(4), Darby Buckley(1), Tom Fleming, Niall Murphy, Paudie Fleming, David Marshall. Coach: Vince Barry, Assistant Coach: Maurice Casey.

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