Ballincollig basketballers finish with a flourish to grab crucial win over cup winners Killester
Quashawn Lane scores for Irish Guidedogs Ballincollig @MTU against Killester. Picture: Larry Cummins
Ballincollig produced a season-best to defeat table-toppers Killester in a thrilling Men’s Super League clash at the MTU Arena on Saturday.
The performance of the Ballincollig professionals on the scoring front was excellent as professionals Quashawn Lane (26), Jake Wolfe (24) and Joshua Tomaic (13) contributed 63 points of their tally.
Jake Wolfe nailed two of his three throws in the opening minute and when Ciaran O’Sullivan and Wolfe added three-pointers the home side surged into a six-point lead in the third minute.
The play was upbeat and with Killester missing their ace talisman Paul Dick they were struggling to find baskets in the early exchanges. Dick injured his ankle in the cup final against UCC Demons and sadly it seems he will miss the rest of the season.
Credit to Ballincollig they continued to shoot the ball with precision and deservedly had surged into a 19-10 in the seventh minute. The Ballincollig pressure continued in the closing minutes and with their defence as rigid as ever they deservedly commanded a nine-point lead 24-15 entering the second quarter.
Killester responded with consecutive baskets but Quashawn Lane produced a stunning three-pointer. The scoring dried for both sides in the opening four minutes with a Ciaran Roe lay-up reducing the deficit to four, 29-25.
The introduction of Isaac Westbrooks helped Killester with a classy shot outside the arc and they took the lead for the first time in the 16th minute when Isiah Dasher finished a lay-up in style.
In the closing minutes consecutive three-pointers from Andy McGeever surged Killester in an eight-point lead and Ballincollig called a time-out with 27.5 seconds remaining to the interval with possession. No basket was banked though as Killester went in at the break commanding a 48-40 lead.
Ciaran O’Sullivan gave the home side the perfect start with a neat jumper and when Tomaic nailed one of his free throws after an unsportsmanlike foul was called on McGeever the lead was down to five points.
The skills of Killester’s American Kason Harrell resurfaced as nailed consecutive baskets to open up an 11-point gap. Killester after looking to be taking control, were stunned as Ballincollig responded in style and after Wolfe tipped in and got the bonus there was just three points between the teams.
The home team kept coming at Killester and when Lane drained a brace of free throws Ballincollig led by the minimum 64-63 entering the fourth quarter. Adrian O’Sullivan floated a beauty on the restart as Killester looked to be on the ropes.
The shooting of McGeever kept Killester in the game as they regained a 73-70 lead in the 33rd minute There was intense tension coming down the stretch and when a Lane nailed a jumper with four minutes remaining Ballincollig led 78-76.
A Ciaran O’Sullivan three-pointer rallied the Ballincollig troops as they finished in style to record a famous victory.
J Wolfe 24, Q Lane 24, J Tomaic 13.
A McGeever 22, K Harrell 19, I Dasher 12.
J Tomaic, A O’Sullivan, J Wolfe, D O’Herlihy, S O’Flynn, S McManus, C O’Sullivan, R O’Sullivan, L O’Sullivan, D Herlihy, K Cairns, Q Lane.
P Dick, C Evans, D Sheridan, A McGeever, E McKean, P Sullivan, I Dasher, F Raheem, C Roe, K Harrell, B Chazelas, E Kiernan.
M Nazimek (Dublin), L Aherne (Limerick), A Wickham (Dublin).
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