Warriors break in new floor with a victory
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Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 90 Swords Thunder 81
GARVEY’S Tralee Warriors made it three wins in-a-row and opened their account at home in the newly renovated Tralee Sport Complex with a 90-81 win over Griffith College Swords Thunder last Saturday. The visitors led at both quarter time and half time before an inspired second half from the Warriors, particularly from Jordan Evans at one end and defensively from Kieran Donaghy and Eoin Quigley at the other paved the way for the home side to prevail in front of another packed house at the Complex.
Warriors opened the contest in fine style with Darragh O’Hanlon hitting an early trademark three before Dusan Bogdanovic and Jordan Evans helped to open up a 7-0 lead early on. Oisin Kerlin and Kevin Lacey got Swords moving but threes from Paul Dick and another from O’Hanlon saw the Warriors lead by 9 midway through the quarter. Swords then set about cutting the gap and did so most effectively with Lacey, the lightening fast Elijah Mays, Charlie Coombes and Adrian Fernandez all getting to the board to score either side of a Fergal O’Sullivan three and the Dublin side ended the quarter with a 20-18 lead.
O’Sullivan arced in another three early in the second as the Warriors clawed back the lead and when Bogdanovic landed scores from both under the board and from the free throw line the home sides advantage was out to three.
Elijah Mays and playmaker Isaac Westbrookes, with his first basket of the night, put Swords back ahead but Paul Dick, Donaghy and Evans replied with interest to give Warriors a 33-29 lead. Swords then rocked the home side with a stunning blitz of 10 unanswered to open up a 7-point. However Darren O’Sullivan just about beat the buzzer to fire home a stunning long distance effort from well inside his half to bring the Warriors fans to their feet and the lead back to 40-36 at half time.
Westbrookes was on the mark again for the visitors early in the third but Evans, Donaghy and a four-point play from Paul Dick saw the Warriors assert to lead again. Kerlin replied for Swords with two scores from close range either side of a typical driving effort from Donaghy. Paul Dick then drilled home a three to edge the Warriors 49-46 ahead but Coombes replied in kind to level it up. Mays weaved his way to the basket to lay-up for Swords but scores from Quigley and Evans saw the sides level again at 53 apiece.
With the game waiting for one side or the other to seize the initiative it was the Warriors that took their chance firstly by shoring up their defence through Eoin Quigley along with an extraordinary display of both offensive and defensive rebounding by Kieran Donaghy. When Quigley, Evans and Fergal O’Sullivan then all fired in threes, each one better than the next, the home side suddenly was 64-55 to the good at three quarter time.
Scores from Bobby Ahearne and Fernandez helped Swords to close the gap early in the final quarter but twice Quigley punished the visitors indiscipline and another huge three from Fergal O’Sullivan maintained the Warriors advantage. Jordan Evans then produced a superb cameo of three successive scores punctuated by success from the free throw line to shoot a quick-fire eight points and effectively decide the contest.
Back to back threes from Westbrookes and Lacey gave Thunder a glimmer of hope but both Paul Dick and Quigley were unerring from the line to ease any Warriors nerves late on. Paul Dick landed the final blow in the dying seconds to see the Warriors win out by 90-81 in the end. TOP SCORERS
GARVEY’S TRALEE WARRIORS: Jordan Evans 22, Paul Dick 20, Eoin Quigley 15
GRIFFITH COLLEGE SWORDS THUNDER: Elijah Mays 19, Kevin Lacey 13, Oisin Kerlin 12