National League Division 1

Limerick Celtics 75
Scotts Lakers 98

Scotts Lakers bounced back to winning ways with a comprehensive 23-point victory over Limerick Celtics in St Munchin’s last Saturday night. After two recent defeats, it was a badly needed victory for the Killarney side and it puts them back in second place on the league table. It also gets them in the right frame of mind for a big National Cup clash away to Dublin Lions this weekend.

This was a match that the Lakers were always in control of. The welcome return of Pádraig Lucey was a big boost and the Killarney side were 24-15 in front at the end of the first quarter. Seán O’Brien was back to his best and he knocked down 18 points in the first half as team coach Cormac O’Donogue ran his full bench. All eleven players featured prominently in the opening half.

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

Seán 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. Big Papito Hersisia was also rested as Pádraig Lucey, Andrew Fitzgerald and Shane McCarthy continued to dominate the rebounds battle against a struggling Limerick outfit. In the end, Scotts Lakers had 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.

Team coach Cormac 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,” he said. “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 minutes before next weekend.”

Scotts Lakers face a difficult National Cup clash away to Dublin Lions at Coláiste Bríde, Clondalkin this Saturday night (October 27) at 6.30pm.

Scotts Lakers: Seán O’Brien (29), Papito Hersisia (22), Séamus Brosnan (9), Justin Tuason (8),  Mark Greene (7), Cian Clernon (7), Dailian Mason (6), Andrew Fitzgerald (6), Pádraig Lucey (4), Shane McCarthy and James Murphy.

Limerick Celtics top scorers: Turrell Morris (29), Fabio Hernandez (13) and Shane O'Connell (11).