UCC Demons end regular season as champions but with a final day loss at home to Eanna after overtime

UCC Demons 103 

Eanna 106 (after overtime) 

UCC Demons went down to Dublin side Eanna in their final game of the Men’s Super League at the Mardyke Arena on Sunday.

After getting dominated for long periods Demons eventually got on top but in the end blew it late in normal time with Eanna’s Sean Jenkins producing a man of the match performance with a 37 point tally.

Jenkins was brilliant throughout in the offensive court and was the difference between his side winning and losing this game. Although Demons had nothing to play for in the final regular league game of the season, it will have hurt Danny Mahony and his team that a fellow Corkman beat them virtually on his own.

Elijah Tillman showed his class beyond the arc with a monstrous shot just eight seconds into the game but with Demons playing zone defence Eanna punished them with three consecutive identical shots.

Indeed Demons defence was all at sea in the opening four minutes with their opponents getting unchallenged looks that saw them race into a 13-9 lead.

The one player that was murdering Demons was Cork born Jenkins who had nailed 11 of his sides opening 16 points.

After six minutes Demons trailed 18-9 with no time out and with Tillman now getting withdrawn, they looked a side in serious decline.

The remainder of the quarter was scrappy with Demons using various rotations and entering the second quarter the visitors deservedly commanded a healthy 14- point lead 28-14.

It got for Demons on the restart when Neil Lynch drained a three pointer as this game was gradually turning out to be a shoot out with the Dublin side racing into a 21- point lead in the 12th minute.

Danny O’Mahony immediately called a time out and decided to bring some of his big guns back into the game in a bid to get some respectability back to the scoreline.

Looking at Demons in the opening 15 minutes they were all over the shop as Eanna were basically toying with them in the manner they picked off their scores.

By virtue of improving their defence Demons reduced the deficit to 10 points following a Dave Lehane spin to the hoop with three minutes remaining to the interval.

Suddenly Demons were in ascendancy as Eanna were suddenly on the ropes and when Robinson nailed one of his free throws the lead was down to two points.

Eanna did respond with a basket but Demons courageous battling qualities got them back in the game as they only trailed by four points at the break 49-45.

In a nutshell Demons ability to rediscover their defensive skills set the tone for their comeback as at one stage the game looked to be going out of their reach.

Joshua Wilson gave Eanna the perfect start and with Jenkins nailing consecutive three pointers the home side found themselves trailing by 12 points two minutes into the quarter.

Jenkins was killing Demons with his slick shooting reaching a 30 points tally in the 24th minute.

The biggest problem for Demons playing at this magnificent venue is that the majority of teams shoot the lights out as the rims are probably the best in this country.

To be fair, Demons coach Danny O’Mahony must be worried going into the play offs with how his team performed defensively in this game.

In the final minutes both teams scrapped hard but Eanna mainly through Demons static defence were nine points to the good going into the final quarter.

On the restart, Demons continued to be lethargic in defence as Eanna increased their lead to 15 points two minutes into this period.

Once again Demons responded, and a Robinson basket reduced the deficit to seven points 87-80 with 6.47 remaining.

Incredibly, Demons levelled the game with 2.48 remaining following a Lehane basket and bonus.

In the closing minutes Demons blew the chance to win it with Robinson missing two free throws before Wilson levelled it in the closing seconds with a three pointer that took the game to overtime.

Demons once again had their opportunities to win in overtime but with baskets going a begging Eanna snatched it at the death.

Scorers for UCC Demons: E Tillman 35, P Robinson 23, J Hannigan 16.

Eanna: S Jenkins 37, M Reynolds 19 T Crawford 18.

UCC Demons: S Hannigan, B Murphy, T Christensen, P Robinson, J Hannigan, D Lehane, E Spudis, K Hosford, C Looney, D Cuff, E Tillman.

Eanna: C O’Sullivan, M Reynolds, D Kiernan, J Wilson, K Andabaka, S Desnica, N Lynch, N Lynch, S Jenkins, T Crawford, J Gormley.

Referees: Emma Perry (Dublin), Linda Cassidy (Dublin), Joe Lavin (Dublin).