by Enda Walshe

Scotts Lakers St Paul’s will have a double-header this weekend as they look to bounce back from a narrow defeat at the hands of the UCC Demons in the Mardyke Arena on Sunday.

While losing is always disappointing, it was an excellent showing against a seasoned and experienced side who are currently top of the league.

It all started so well with Godwin Boahen quickly into his stride and at the end of the first quarter the Lakers had a thirteen-point lead (27-14).

The second quarter belonged to Blue Demons as they fired in 36 points. Former Laker Toby Christensen was red hot and Tala Fam Thiam was starting to find his feet too. Fourteen points was what the Lakers mustered up in response to the Demons blitz as the lead had changed hands by the half (50-41).

The third quarter saw the Lakers put in an excellent shift, limiting the Demons to 14 points and gathering 19 of their own. However, try as they might in the final quarter, the Lakers couldn't get their noses in front.

A big factor in the game at this stage was the foul count as three Lakers fouled out amid some debatable decisions. This served to halt any momentum generated and Demons ran out 96-86 winners.

Top scorers for the Lakers were Godwin Boahen with a game high 37, Emilian Grudov with 13 and Senan O’Leary with 11. Toby Christensen checked out with 36 points, Tala Fam Thiam had 23 and Ryan Murphy and Stefan Manojlovic had 10 each.

Lakers coach Jarlath Lee felt the team had a collective disappointment over the result, a sign of the progress they've made this season. He also was left to rue the amount of points Demons gathered from the charity stripe.

“Going down by 10 points to the league leaders, a seasoned team, has left us deeply disappointed,” he said. “We had two good quarters, the first and the third. The second went a bit scrappy while the fourth left us frustrated at some of the referees calls. But aside from that we know we can do better.

"We have two games next weekend, two games we’re targeting for two wins. We are a strong team and we’ll be looking to return to winning ways in front of our own fans on Saturday night.”

On Saturday the Lakers welcome the Portlaoise Panthers to the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre with a 7.30 tip-off.

They then take to the road Sunday morning then when they travel to the Barrow Centre in Carlow to take on the natives who will be a formidable opponent. Tip-off is at 3pm and the game will likely be streamed live on the IT Carlow Basketball Facebook page.