Ballincollig basketballers suffer Super League blow against UCD Marian
Ballincollig's Adrian O'Sullivan score in the Domino's Men's Superleague game against UCD Marion at the MTU Arena, before his injury. Picture: David Creedon
Irish Guide Dogs Ballincollig lost to UCD Marian in a very defensive Domino’s Men’s Super League game at MTU Arena.
Ballincollig will know that not controlling their own boards, along with poor shooting and passing options, cost them. Captain Adrian O'Sullivan was forced off with an ankle injury but they were left to rue wasting an early 19-2 advantage in a defeat that's a big blow to their prospects of a top-four finish and a home playoff quarter-final.
Ballincollig raced into a 7-2 lead with a brace of buckets by Quashawn Lane and an effort beyond the arc by his American teammate Jake Wolfe. They then lost O'Sullivan after he had grabbed an early four points but their run and jump man-to-man defence was giving the Dublin side all sorts of problems.
When Ciaran O’Sullivan nailed a three they led 19-2 with 2.33 remaining in the opening period before the visitors then went on an eight-point run. However a huge three by Sean McManus gave the Village a 22-10 lead entering the second quarter.
Marian started the second period brightly but Joshua Tomaic chipped in with three unanswered baskets to make it 33-21 midway through. The one frustrating thing for the hosts was their rebounding and Marian punished them with 10 unanswered points to make it 39-35 at the half.
A pair of foul shots by Eoin Nelson gave Marian a 48-45 lead midway through the third quarter.
Ballincollig regained the lead, 52-48 with a short jumper by Tomaic and an effort beyond the arc by Wolfe.
However, some poor passing options saw the Dubliners reduce the deficit to just two points, 54-52, at the end of the quarter.
The Village settled at the start of their fourth and their lead was 61-56 with a pair of Wolfe free throws, followed by a short jump hook shot by Tomaic.
It didn't last long though and Marian stayed in the mix, with their free-throw shooting notably better than Ballincollig's. Marian led again, 70-69, with three and a half minutes remaining.
Sean McManus got some big buckets late on but coming down the stretch Marian found a way to score the vital baskets to seal an important victory.
J Wolfe 25, J Tomaic 15, S McManus 15.
J Jean 17, L Tvdic 15, J Connaire 14.
Joshua Tomaic, Adrian O’Sullivan, Jake Wolfe, Diego O’Herlihy, Sean O’Flynn, Sean McManus, Ciaran O’Sullivan, Ronan O’Sullivan, Brendan Douanla, Luke O’Sullivan, Quashawn Lane, Keelan Cairns.
Guillem Catany-Bigas, Lovre Tvrdic, James Connaire, Ronan Byrne, Tanner Graham, Eoin Nelson, Cian Tiernan, Jonathon Jean.
Leann Ahern (Limerick), Emer Buckley (Kerry), Jacek Manysko (Portlaoise).
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