James Hannigan inspires UCC Demons to victory and knock reigning champions Maree out of the National Cup

UCC Demons 93 

Maree 88 

UCC Demons produced a season's best performance to defeat the reigning Pat Duffy National Cup holders Maree following an epic game at the Neptune stadium on Sunday.

This game had everything and the large Demons support rallied their troops coming down the stretch when they needed inspiration with James Hannigan (17pts) having the game of his life at his former club.

It was evident Demons were going to run the ball at every given opportunity as James Hannigan got them up and running with Tala Fam adding another basket.

Demons new American D’Andre Jackson picked up two fouls in the opening two minutes with his team playing good open running basketball as they raced into a 10-3 lead in the fifth minute.

Maree slowly began finding their form and a superb Eoin Rockall drive to the hoop in the sixth minute the deficit was reduced to five points.

Both teams traded baskets for remainder of the quarter and a late Jackson three pointer saw Demons lead by the minimum.

On the restart the intensity lifted but Jackson picked up his third foul and it was nip and tuck with the home side running the ball at every given opportunity.

At times Demons were choosing the wrong shooting options and a time out was called with six minutes remaining to the interval when they led 33-31.

The foul count in Demons began to increase as and the teams were still level at 42 points each following a superb Woods coast to coast basket.

To be fair some of Demons defending was superb at times but they were getting punished with soft fouls in this highly charged game.

The foul count at the break was 12 for Demons and six for Maree but Demons needed to be disciplined on the restart as they had a 51-48 lead heading into the third quarter.

The home side got off to great start with James Hannigan nailing consecutive baskets but sloppy turnovers got Maree back on the game.

Once again Demons responded in style and with Woods and James Beckom knocking down crucial baskets they suddenly surged into a nine point lead with three minutes remaining.

Suddenly Demons went into meltdown as Maree registered seven unanswered points and entering the fourth quarter Demons led by the minimum.

To be fair this was a mighty effort from Demons playing only one American with Jackson still on the bench but he was reinstated for the closing quarter.

On the restart Demons went into a lull and with James Hannigan picking up his fourth foul the intensity dropped.

To be fair his twin brother Scott showed similar intensity and when he nailed a three pointer with 3.36 remaining Demons edged into a 84-82 lead.

In the closing minutes Demons held firm and a stunning late three pointer from Jackson and a slam dunk from Fam ensured the Cork side have a home quarter final against Belfast Star.

It as breathtaking!

Scorers for UCC Demons: T Fam 25, S Woods 23, J Hannigan 17 D Johnson 13.

Maree: K Carey 21, Z Cutuk 17, K J Bosley 17.

UCC Demons: S Hannigan, M McCarthy, J Beckom, K Hosford, J Hannigan, D Lehane, T Fam, C Cuff, C Looney, S Woods, D Jackson, J O’Leary.

Maree: H Bevan, C Cannon, E Rockall, J Burke, K J Bosley, G Fernane, K Carey, T Lewis, T Dumont, Z Cutuk.

Referees: J Dooley (Thurles), L Aherne (Cork), J Malysko (Dublin).