Scotts Lakers home run continues with win over LIT
NATIONAL LEAGUE DIVISION ONE
Scotts Lakers Killarney 85 Limerick IT 76
SCOTTS Lakers Killarney continued their winning run at Killarney Sports Centre on Sunday afternoon with a nine-point victory over Limerick IT. It was a match that the home side were cruising through for long periods leading by 29 points at one stage but the visitors managed to shave off 20 points from that deficit and narrow the difference to single digits in the end.
Scotts Lakers were at their best firing on all cylinders in the opening two quarters scoring 56 first half points but their performance dipped considerably in the second half. However the victory never really looked in doubt and the Killarney side now have a 7-2 winning record in the league and remain in second place in the southern conference.
A dominant first quarter helped the Killarney side gain a strong upperhand with Sean O’Brien and Mark Greene leading the way. Papito Hersisia, Andrew Fitzgerald and Dailian Mason also chipped in with big scores as Scotts Lakers enjoyed a commanding 28-6 advantage at the end of the first quarter. Limerick’s American Matt Scamuffo was the only scorer for the visitors at this stage and he went on to have play a very prominent role for his side.
Scotts Lakers continued to dominate in the second quarter with Andrew Fitzgerald, Justin Tuason, Padraig Lucey and Cian Clernon all making a difference and the home side led 44-20 with four minutes left in the half. Further three-pointers from Mark Greene and Sean O’Brien increased the advantage to 56-29 at half-time
Papito Hersisia extended it to 60-31 early in the third quarter and this 29 point gap was the largest lead in the match for Scotts Lakers. Matt Scamuffo, along with Deividas Venckunas and Kyrstian Burchardt kept plugging away for Limerick as they cut the gap to 62-46 midway through the third quarter . Mark Greene and Andrew Fitzgerald kept the Lakers in firm control to lead 71- 52 as the game entered the final quarter.
Although the closing period looked like a mere formality, Limerick never gave up with impressive American Matt Scamuffo bringing his personal tally to 42 points and they narrowed the gap to nine points in the end.
SCOTTS LAKERS: Sean O’Brien 16, Mark Greene 15, Papito Hersisia 13, Andrew Fitzgerald 12, Justin Tuason 9, Dailian Mason 9, Seamus Brosnan 6, Cian Clernon 3, Padraig Lucey 2, Shane McCarthy, James Murphy.
LIMERICK IT: Matt Scamuffo 42, Deividas Venckunas 20, Kyrstian Burchardt 13 Daniel Broderick 1
SCOTTS Lakers St Pauls are at home to Waterford Vikings in Killarney Sports Centre this Saturday, November 10 at 7.30 pm.
The sides clashed in Waterford earlier in the season with Lakers enjoying a comfortable 102-73 victory. Waterford’s American Daniel Noe scored 47 points in that game and will lead their challenge again this weekend.
The visitors have a young squad playing in their first season in the league and have been struggling to make an impact and are still searching for their first win after nine games. Scotts Lakers will be fancied to come out on top but team coach Cormac O’Donoghue and his players will be anxious to eliminate any complacency.
The Lakers were also scheduled to play an away game against Fr Mathews in Cork on Sunday but this match is likely to move to a later date.