National League: Division 1
Scotts Lakers v LYIT Donegal
Tonight at 7.30pm
Killarney Sports Centre

The Scotts Lakers have a golden opportunity to move up to joint second in Division 1 of the National League when they welcome promotion rivals LYIT Donegal to Killarney tomorrow night. The Lakers are currently in a tie for third with Fr Mathews but victory over LYIT will see them join their Ulster counterparts on five wins (15 points), just one win behind leaders Ballincollig.

Lakers coach Shane McCarthy will be hoping for a return to winning ways after last weekend’s disappointing cup defeat to Ballincollig but his side certainly won’t have it all their own way against LYIT. The Ulstermen have won all five of their league games to date and they made light work of Tolka Rovers in the first round of the cup, racking up 97 points in an utterly dominant display.

Led by 6’9” German centre Dominique Uhl, American all-rounder Emmanuel Payton, Spanish guard Mario Garcia and hometown hero Andrew McGeever, LYIT have scored at least 94 points in every one of their games so far in this campaign.

Payton, a native of Fitchburg, Massachusetts, is the second most prolific scorer in the division, averaging 30.6 points per game. Uhl, meanwhile, has been a monster on the glass, picking up an incredible 19.4 rebounds per outing. To put that into context, Toby Christensen, the Lakers’ top rebounder and the fifth best rebounder in the league, is averaging 11.3.

If the Lakers can maintain their 100% home league record against such strong opposition it would surely be their biggest victory of the season to date and it could act as a springboard for bigger and better things down the road.