Third quarter rally not enough for Moycullen

Date Published: 14-Jan-2010

ON a Saturday night when most people were sensibly confined to the couch, TV and a warm fire, Moycullen travelled to Dublin to face arguably the most talented team in the Superleague, Killester.

The fact that Killester had, surprisingly, lost two games on the trot made Moycullen’s task even harder and the return of Paddy Kelly and Michael Westbrooks saw Killester at full strength for the first time in a number of games.

Despite these obstacles, and another slow start, Moycullen battled gamely, narrowing the deficit to just two points in an exciting third quarter. However, Killester’s experience and scoring power finally won out, as they dominated the fourth quarter and closed out a rather flattering 101-79 victory.

At the moment, for Moycullen, they’re straddling a thin line between being a competitive team in the league and a league newcomer in the comfort zone of “learning their trade”. Their commitment and effort is not in question but, with three wins achieved and solid performances delivered in most games, the danger is they could settle for respectability and not maximise their abilities.

Saturday’s game began in relatively familiar fashion for Moycullen. Against the better teams, they lack little in intensity at the start but the desire to match their opponents sees them make too many fundamental errors.

Nate Fritsch kept Moycullen in touch with some superb outside shooting but quarter ended with the Moycullen defence asleep, leaving lethal three point shooter, Michael Goj, open for two uncontested threes which he knocked down to give his team a 29-16 lead.

The second quarter saw Moycullen match their opponents score for score as they adjusted their defence and settled down offensively. Eoghan Maxwell, John Cunningham and Garnett Griffin all got scores close to the hoop as Moycullen to keep the margin to 49-36 at the half.

Coach Byrt talked at the half about getting the gap down to single figures in the first three minutes of the third quarter. And his side duly responded with the first eight points through John Cunningham, Fritsch and Cian Nihill, forcing Killester into an early time out.

In a thrilling quarter of basketball, the teams went score for score for a period with James Loughnane, Griffin and Cian Nihill to the fore for the visitors while Killester again shared their points to good effect. A superb driving score from Nihill cut the deficit to 65-

63 as Moycullen looked to take control.

However, a combination of Killester’s experience and Moycullen’s poor defensive recognition put paid to any hopes of a shock.

Once again, Moycullen failed to recognise the outside shooting threats as Michael Goj and Peder Madsen (2) nailed 3 three pointers to close out the quarter, restoring Killester to a comfortable 74-63 lead.

Moycullen battled gamely early in the fourth but, in truth, the game was lost at the end of the third. Killester, sensing their opponents challenge waning, went for the jugular with Turner and Madsen leading the way to a 101-79 victory.