Maree win thriller to secure their Super League status

Eanna 102

Maree 113

Maree secured their Super League status for next season when coming out on top in a double overtime thriller in Templeogue on Saturday night.

They looked to have the job done in regulation time on Saturday when they led 84-81 with just over three seconds left on the clock, but Eanna took the ball in from the baseline and Tamron Manning made it as far as half-way before launching a Hail Mary just before the buzzer, and the ball sailed clean into the basket to tie the game and send it into overtime.

The drama wasn’t finished there, however: both sides traded baskets in the first period of 5 additional minutes, but Eanna were in foul trouble. They started the game with just a roster of eight, and by the of the first period of overtime, they had lost four players to five fouls apiece, leaving them with just four eligible players for the second period of overtime, which they forced with a late free throw from Manning to leave the scores 98-apiece.

Maree made the most of the man advantage to open up a 6-point advantage early in the second period of overtime, and Eanna found further foul trouble when losing another player to five fouls to finish the game with just three men on the court. Maree outscored them 15-4 in that second period of overtime to stay in the top flight, and condemn their hosts to the relegation/promotion play-off against Neptune of Cork.

Eanna led 21-19 at the end of the first quarter in which the biggest gap between the sides was never more than four points, and Maree had reduced the arrears to three points (39-36) at half-time, with Burke scoring strongly in that second quarter.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.