IRELAND finished their warmup games for the European basketball championship preliminary tournament, which will be held in Iceland later this week, with an impressive 96-79 victory over Scotland yesterday in Glasgow.

Ireland only held a narrow 41-37 lead at half-time, but a hat-trick of three-pointers from Frank Powell soon after the restart pushed Ireland into a significant lead that they subsequently built on.

Powell was the leading Irish scorer with 25 points, while Alan Tomidy on 21 and John O'Connell on 20 made major contributions as well.

The victory was a tonic for the Irish following a disappointing 89-78 defeat to American side Wheaton College on Saturday evening at Griffith Avenue in Glasnevin.