At yesterday's conclusion to the All-Ireland Schoolboys' basketball finals, St Muredach's of Ballina claimed their first under-19 title with a 57-45 win over Castlecomer Community School.
Despite the persistent scoring of Castlecomer captain Adam Holden, St Muredach's were never seriously threatened and that was mostly due to the outstanding Ronan McGarrity. He controlled the court throughout, ending up with 19 points, although he was well supported by the likes of Martin Wynne an Padraig Roche.
After trailing 23-18 at halftime, the Kilkenny students reduced the gap to 39-37 with some five minutes left but McGarrity stepped up a gear and ensured the title went to Ballina.
Carrick-on-Shannon made up for the disappointment of losing the under-19 C final on Wednesday by coming from behind to defeat Presentation De La Salle, Bagenalstown 37-32 and claim the under-16 C title after extra time. Aidan Carr was their top scorer on 13 points but the game's MVP still went to De La Salle's Paul Lynch who scored an impressive 18 points.
The last game of the afternoon saw Moyle Park, Clondalkin win a one-sided under-16 B final 4431 over Douglas Community College. MVP went to Philip Taylor (14 points) with Dermot O'Kelly contributing 15 points.
