The Scotts Lakers return home this weekend with a double-header of fixtures on Friday and Saturday night. On Friday at 8.15pm one of the league’s form teams, the Portlaoise Panthers, are in the Killarney Sports and Leisure Centre.

The Laois club have only won six times this season but three of those victories have come in the last four games. University Kokomo graduate Desean Hampton is a key player for the Panthers along with Gary Morrissey, Seán Condon and Davin McEvoy.

On Saturday at 7.30pm, the University of Ulster will be in town looking to cement their playoff spot. The National Cup winners have Cork man Conor O’Sullivan on their books, while former SETU Carlow player Nate Shafer is another man to keep an eye on.

The Lakers will be hoping to bounce back from their recent six-point defeat away to the Dublin Lions. For long periods it looked like the visitors were going to end the February tour of Ireland with a much-needed and merited win but they just couldn't stick with the Lions in the final quarter.

There were several positives for Jarlath Lee despite the defeat. 18-year-old Eoin Carroll put in an outstanding performance, hitting 18 points and using his height to great effect around the basket. Senan O’Leary hit the same tally, including four three-pointers. Mark Sheehan, another teenager, hit a hat-trick of threes. Alongside Jack O’Sullivan, these four players have made a real impact this season. Add in Oisín Spring and the older Jamie O’Sullivan, still the right side of 21, and the Lakers have the nucleus of a squad for years to come.

On the night the Lakers hit an impressive fourteen from beyond the arc as the reliable Jack Ferguson and captain Rui Saraiva battled all the way.

PLAYOFFS

The St Paul’s women’s team are still on track to reach the playoffs, despite last weekend’s double overtime defeat to the Cavan Eagles.

Paul’s just came up short against the runaway Northern Conference leaders at the Virginia Show Centre but they are still in a strong position with two games to go. The top two from each conference advance to the post-season and James Fleming’s team are currently second in the south, one win behind Portlaoise. Finishing in first place would be preferrable as it would mean avoiding the Eagles in the playoffs.

The penultimate game of the regular season is an away trip to the National Basketball Arena where Griffith College Templeogue will provide the opposition. The Dublin side have had a strong season. They have put all the teams below them to the sword with relative ease and have been extremely competitive against the top teams in the division. Tip-off on Saturday is at 5pm.