Ballincollig miss free throws to win it but fall short against Killester in Super League game

Ballincollig 80 

Killester 81 

Killester produced a superb fourth and edged a competitive Domino’s Men’s Super League clash against second placed Ballincollig by the minimum at the MTU Arena on Monday.

Plenty of solid performances from the winners but they had a gem in Paul Dick when the game hung in the balance and his 21-point contribution proved crucial in his sides impressive win.

Ballincollig went into the game without star American Latrell Josell for the second consecutive game as he continues to suffer from back spasms.

The Killesters Americans Robert Braswell and Josh Wilson nailed consecutive three pointers in the opening minute to give them the perfect start.

Credit to Ballincollig they steadied the ship and consecutive baskets got them up and running but they still trailed 7-4 in the fourth minute.

Josh Steel showed his class on the nest possession and when Adrian O’Sullivan pulled up for a stunning three pointer it gave his side a 10-7 lead.

Andy McGeever came off the Killester bench to nail a monstrous shot outside the paint but Ballincollig responded to command a four- lead in the sixth minute.

Latavious Mitchell has been one of the best Americans in the league this season and he finished the quarter with a basket and three pointer that was good enough to see his team lead 21-20 entering the second quarter.

Dylan Corkery showed his shooting skills with a neat three pointer on the restart as suddenly the Cork side had a six- point cushion.

Killester’s tendency to choose silly shooting options was hurting them and four minutes into the quarter Ballincollig had a nine- point lead following a Colm Blount basket and bonus.

For two minutes in this period Ballincollig went into a lull and three unanswered Killester baskets reduced the deficit to two points that forced a time out with 2.53 remaining to the interval.

On restart Colm O’Reilly made a neat drive to the hoop and executed and Killester then took the lead with two Braswell free throws.

The home responded with a Mitchell basket that ensured they went in at the break commanding a 41-40 lead.

Reading the half stats Ballincollig were 10/19 (53%) inside the paint and 6/17 (38%) outside the arc.

Killester only took 10 seconds to regain their lead courtesy of a Baptiste Chazelas lay-up but Ballincollig responded helped by a basket and a brace of free throws.

Scoring was certainly a rarity in the opening three minutes with both sides struggling to put the ball in the basket, but Adrian O’Sullivan looked the one Ballincollig player capable of hurting Killester with his moves to the hoop.

Entering the closing couple of minutes Mitchell produced a stunning coast to coast basket and suddenly Ballincollig led by three points 59-56.

Ballincollig pushed on and commanded a six- point lead entering the fourth quarter but Dick showed his class with a long range three pointer on the restart.

Killester inspired by Dick surged into a seven- point lead in the closing minutes but Ballincollig battled back with consecutive three pointers from Corkery.

Trailing by two points Adrian O’Sullivan had an opportunity to win the game for the home side with three free throws, but he only managed to make one as the Ballincollig revival fell short.

Scorers for Ballincollig: L Mitchell 20, A O’Sullivan 23, D Corkery 11.

Killester: R Braswell 24, P Dick 21, J Wilson 14.

Ballincollig: A O’Sullivan, J Steel, L Jossell, D O’Herlihy, A Rodriguez, C O’Sullivan, R O’Sullivan, C Blount, L O’Sullivan, D Corkery, K Cairns, L Mitchell.

Killester: A McGeever, J Wilson, C O’Reilly, D Sheridan, P Dick, T Byrne, M McGrath, F Raheem, K Yang, R Braswell, B Chazelas, J Rawdon, R Farouq.

Referees: J Dooley (Portlaoise), A Wickham (Dublin), A Pauliukenas (Portlaoise).