Lakers clinch Division 1B title in dramatic fashion
NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Scotts Lakers St Pauls 87 Paris Texas Kilkenny 81
SCOTTS Lakers clinched the division one B title following a dramatic six point victory over Paris Texas Kilkenny in Killarney Sports Centre last Saturday night. Trailing 81-70 with five minutes remaining, the game appeared well out of reach for the home side but the Lakers enjoyed a storming finish hitting 17 unanswered points keeping Kilkenny scoreless for the closing five minutes.
Indeed it was a match where both sides enjoyed significant periods of dominance at different stages. Scotts Lakers squandered a 13 point advantage after leading 21-8 at one stage in the first quarter while Kilkenny led by the same margin, 56-43, early in the third quarter. The closing five minutes where Scotts Lakers went on a 17-0 run was an outstanding finish from the home side but it also reflected a dismal period from a Kilkenny side that ran out of steam and pressed their own self destruct button.
Both sides went into this match at the top of division 1B knowing that a victory would secure the title. Scotts Lakers were out of the blocks early with Antuan Bootle, Dan Griffin and Dailian Mason all on target to open up 15-4 midway through the first quarter. The Lakers extended their advantage to 21-8 with less than three minutes left but Kilkenny responded well through Julian O’Keeffe and American Taylor Young to narrow the gap to 23-15 at the end of the first quarter.
Lakers maintained their advantage with a three-pointer from team captain Philip O’Connor to lead 3023. Paul Clarke, off the bench, also added a basket but Taylor Young really stepped it up for Kilkenny and he tied the game at 34 points each with 4.22 remaining in the half. Kilkenny took the lead for the first time through Brian Hogan, 3436, with four minutes left and with O’Keeffe and Young continuing the impress, Kilkenny were in front, 43-44, at the interval break.
It didn’t get much better for Scotts Lakers upon the resumption and with Taylor Young dominating, Kilkenny opened up a 13 point lead, 43-56, early in the third quarter. After trailing by the same margin in the first quarter, it was an impressive 26 point turnaround by the visitors.
It was a full three minutes before Scotts Lakers opening their scoring account in the second half and they trailed 50-60 midway through the third quarter. Antuan Bootle and Mark Greene kept the home side in contention with some big three-pointers but Kilkenny were in command to lead 61-72 at the end of the third quarter.
It looked all over for Scotts Lakers when a Paul Leigh three-pointer pushed Kilkenny 65-77 clear with less than seven minutes remaining and the home side trailed 70-81 with five minutes left. Amazingly, Kilkenny failed to score again as Mark Greene and Andrew Fitzgerald narrowed it to 74-81 with 4:30 remaining.
Kilkenny were in serious foul trouble at this stage and accurate free throw shooting from Mark Greene and Antuan Bootle cut the gap to 80-81 with 2:30 left. With the home supporters on their feet sensing victory, a big Dan Griffin basket raised the roof and Scotts Lakers took the lead, 82-81 with 1.52 remaining. A huge three-pointer followed from Dailian Mason with 30 seconds left while Philip O’Connor added the insurance baskets to secure a memorable six point win for the Lakers.
Kilkenny will look back on this game as one that slipped away so easily. Significant factors in their loss will point to their scoreless return in the closing five minutes. They managed just four baskets in the final quarter and American Taylor Young was held scoreless by great defence from the Lakers in that period. Also the impressive Julian O’Keeffe, who netted 15 first half points, was held scoreless for the duration of the whole second half.
Full credit to Lakers for the great comeback and superb defence that limited the Kilkenny threat . The overall Lakers performance wasn’t one of their better ones but it was a very rewarding one for coach Cormac O’Donoghue and his squad and securing the plate title was a real bonus considering that it is the Killarney side’s first season back in national league basketball after nearly a decade. SCOTTS LAKERS: Antuan Bootle 32, Dailin Mason 17, Mark Greene 12, Andrew Fitzgerald 9, Dan Griffin 8, Philip O’Connor 7, Paul Clarke 2.
PARIS TEXAS KILKENNY: Taylor Young 32, James Butler 16, Julian O Keeffe 15, Ryan Pepper 7, Paul Leigh 5, Brian Hogan 4, Tom Larkin 2.
TOP FOUR PLAY OFFS
After winning the Division 1B title, Scotts Lakers will now compete in the league play-offs with a place in the final top four up for grabs. The Lakers will host IT Carlow in Killarney next Sunday, and the winners will go forward to the top four where the opposition is likely to be Division 1A winners Killorglin, Neptune and Ballincollig.
Carlow finished in fourth spot in division 1A and will be a much tougher test than recent opposition for Scotts Lakers. The sides clashed in Carlow last December with the home side winning 88-77 on that occasion.
American Jimmy Gordon is an outstanding three-point shooter and he is well supported by the likes of Kevin O’Donoghue, Alan O’Neill and Armands Kaikuls.