UCC Demons defeat great rivals Neptune again as Patrick Robinson delivers in fourth quarter
UCC Demons' Patrick Robinson shoots from Energywise Ireland Neptune's Chancellor Hunter. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
The bragging rights stay with UCC Demons as a 36-point contribution from American Patrick Robinson ensured they saw off great rivals Energywise Ireland Neptune at a packed Neptune Stadium on Saturday.
Not the prettiest game at times with a lot of unforced errors from both sides but in the last quarter when the game was there to be won key Demons players found the bottle for the battle that secured the all-important win.
The home team got off to a great start when following a James Hannigan turnover Darragh O’Sullivan finished with an unchallenged lay-up.
The play was fast and furious in the opening with both sides shooting the ball exceptionally well inside and outside the arc with Demons leading 14-10 in the fourth minute following a three-pointer from Hannigan.
Demons looked dangerous when feeding Tillman at the post but at times they chose silly shooting at times and Neptune rallied to reduce the deficit to 18-16 with three minutes remaining. Demons' tendency to turn the ball over was hurting them but they finished the quarter well with Tillman nailing a three and a basket that gave them a 26-21 lead entering the second quarter.
Demons added another basket with a second James Hannigan three but the play for the next three minutes was sloppy with a Cian Heaphy basket reducing the deficit to six points.
For some strange reason, both sides continued to attempt ridiculous shots and although Demons led 39-30 midway through the quarter they were not at their best in key departments. The home team to their credit rallied in the closing minutes and the lead was whittled down to five points with 7.8 seconds remaining with both teams a calling time out.
The visitors had possession, but it came to nothing and Demons went in with a 46-41 interval lead.
Looking at the half-time stats Demons made five from 13 attempts outside the arc, but had nine turnovers. Neptune made four of their 13 three-point attempts and had six turnovers.
Although the first half was exciting at times both sides would have felt at the break they underachieved, and the capacity attendance were waiting for the game to explode on the restart. Tamyrik Fields nailed a monstrous three-pointer on the restart and two minutes into the third quarter the teams were level.
Neptune took the lead in the 23rd minute as Demons looked a side on the ropes with their discipline looking to be running away from them.
The hosts looked in the ascendancy and they still had a 59-57 lead with 2.40 remaining in the quarter. The turnovers and poor shooting continued in this period, but Kyle Hosford kept Demons in the game with three unanswered baskets, but it was Neptune that took a 69-67 lead into the fourth and final quarter.
Coach Danny O’Mahony changed his rotation for the restart but the teams continued to trade baskets up to the 24th minute. Suddenly Neptune took a five-point lead, but Demons brought back some big guns and the sides were level at 80 points each with 3.45 remaining on the clock.
Robinson was the go-to player Demons player coming down the stretch and he managed to execute crucial baskets that broke the hearts of the Neptune faithful.
T Fields 18, C Heaphy 16, J Sola 13, D O’Sullivan 12, C Hunter 11.
P Robinson 36, E Tillman 20, K Hosford 14, J Hannigan 9, S Hannigan 8.
D O’Sullivan, C Leahy, R Downey, C O’Sullivan, T Fields, D Aluko, A Heaphy, D O’Rourke, N Sabata, C Heaphy, J Sola, C Hunter.
S Hannigan, B Murphy, T Christensen, P Robinson, J Hannigan, D Lehane, E Spudis, K Hosford, C Looney, D Cuff, E Tillman.
N Nazimek (Dublin), L Cassidy (Dublin), Y Ni (Dublin).
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