Lakers ease past Celtics

SCOTTS Lakers bounced back to winning ways with a comprehensive 23-point victory over Limerick Celtics in St. Munchins Limerick last Saturday night. After two recent defeats, it was a badly needed victory for the Killarney side and puts them back in second place on the league table as well as getting them in the right frame of mind for a big national cup clash away to Dublin Lions this weekend.

This was a match that Scotts Lakers were always in control of. The welcome return of Padraig Lucey to competitive action was a big boost and the Killarney side were 24-15 in front at the end of the first quarter. Sean O’Brien was back to his best and knocked down 18 points in the first half as coach Cormac O’Donogue ran his bench with all eleven players featuring prominently in the opening half.

Lakers enjoyed a 45-35 advantage at half-time and started the second half in convincing fashion. Papito Hersisia, Andrew Fitzgerald and Padraig Lucey dominated the boards while Sean O’Brien, Seamus Brosnan, Mark Greene, Dailian Mason and Cian Clernon were also prominent as the Killarney side opened up a 73-51 lead at the end of the third quarter.

Sean O’Brien sat out the closing minutes of the third quarter and was also rested for the final period but his able replacement Justin Tuason kept the Lakers in firm control. Papito Hersisia was also rested as Padraig Lucey, Andrew Fitzgerald and Shane McCarthy continued to dominate the rebounds battle against a struggling Limerick side. In the end Scotts Lakers enjoyed a comfortable 23 points to spare with an outstanding overall team performance. They shot 10 from 21 three-point attempts and converted 12 from 14 free throws and this result pushed them up to six wins and two losses on the league table.

O’Donoghue was pleased with the great team performance.

“It was good to get a win after two tough losses especially with a huge Cup game coming up this weekend. Our defence was definitely better which it needed to be after coughing up big scores the last two weekends. I felt it was a perfect response to a poor performance last week and we shared the ball much better. It was good that everyone got good minutes before next weekend.”

SCOTTS LAKERS: Sean O’Brien 29, Papito Hersisia 22, Seamus Brosnan 9, Justin Tuason 8, Mark Greene 7, Cian Clernon 7, Dailian Mason 6, Andrew Fitzgerald 6, Padraig Lucey 4 Shane McCarthy, James Murphy.