Quinn plays through pain and inspires Star to victory at Eanna

CONOR Quinn shook off his ankle injury and inspired Belfast Star to an 81-71 victory away to Eanna on Saturday night.

Quinn was to the fore when top scoring for Star on 20 points, while Frenchman Clement Kulinicz and American DeAngelo LeGrier both hit 17 points and picked up crucial rebounds at both ends of the court.

The victory, sealed by a good all-round team performance, has boosted Star’s bid for an end-ofseason top-four place and crucially for Star, American LeGrier looked as if he was truly settling into his role with the Belfast side.

Quinn said: “DeAngelo has only been in with us a month and most of the teams we play against have an American who has been with the club for a couple of years at least so it was obviously going to take time for him to settle but we now seem to have a better chemistry.

“He gives us that inside option, we’re not just relying on our outside shooting. But also, he has a great attitude — he fights for every ball and against Eanna he was taking some big hits but still did his job and got the rebounds along with Clement and Liam Pettigrew.”

As for his own eye-catching performance, Quinn says the purchase of a new ankle brace has enabled him to give his best for Star who enter 2018 with renewed hope of their best season for a number of years.

“It was tough coming back after the first ankle injury and then I suffered another one before Christmas so it’s still an issue but getting the brace means it is manageable.

“I couldn’t have played otherwise — it’s allowed me to play with freedom,” added Quinn.