DCU Saints caused a big upset in the Men's Super League on Saturday evening as they overcame league leaders UCD Marian at the death, 71-70.
A nail-biting finale to one of the games of the weekend saw the clash ultimately decided on the free throw line, as everyone held their breath when Dee Proby edged DCU ahead, while UCD Marian missed the opportunity from the same spot at the other end (netting just one from two of their bonus shots) to tie the game on the buzzer to send the game to overtime.
"I'm delighted with the win!" said Saints head coach Joey Boylan. "It was a tough game, and the last couple of minutes it came down to who was getting their shots and who would miss them and, unfortunately for them, they missed a free throw on the buzzer."
Marian didn't have long to wait though until they got back to winning ways as they took the spoils from their big clash with UCC Demons at the Mardyke in Cork on Sunday, winning out 95-78 in the end with a 31-point display from Mike Garrow.
“We would have loved to have won both games,” admitted Marian’s Ioannis Liapakis. “But the way things came about, one win is enough – it’s good, we’re happy. We needed that win: in five months we had only two losses and all of a sudden, in one week we had two losses in a row. We needed that win today to get back on track.”
Demons also had a double-header weekend of games, and won out 85-72 over Moycullen on Saturday evening in Galway.
Shot the lights out
Garvey's Tralee Warriors meanwhile kept their spot at second place on the table secure this weekend, with an 84-72 point win over Pyrobel Killester in the Complex in Tralee. Trae Pemberton shot the lights out for the Kerry side as he netted an impressive 38 points and put in an absolutely stunning performance on both sides of the court and, despite a third-quarter run from Killester, Tralee's early lead in the first half, teamed with a fantastic finishing performance from Kieran Donaghy and Darren O'Sullivan saw them come out on top.
Elsewhere, Cup champions Black Amber Templeogue got the better of KUBS while Belfast Star ran out 71-62 point winners over Eanna.
In the Women's Super League, meanwhile, the hugely anticipated clash between Courtyard Liffey Celtics and DCU Mercy certainly lived up to all expectations, with Liffey winning out 61-57 in a cracking game. An extremely tense end to the clash saw brilliant scoring from Devon Brookshire and international underage star Sorcha Tiernan see them home to victory.
‘Third close game’
"That was the third close game we've had between the two teams this season," said Celtics' coach Mark Byrne afterwards. "DCU were coming off the back of a great cup win the previous weekend, so it was just a great game for us to come out on top.
“Sorcha [Tiernan] is probably one of the best, if not the best, young player in the country right now. She showed great composure today. DCU are known for putting a lot of pressure on people and they pressed us for the whole game, and she shot 15 points so it was an all round great performance from her.”
Elsewhere, Ambassador UCC Glanmire took a comfortable win over Portlaoise Panthers, NUIG Mystics fell to Maxol WIT Wildcats 59-71, while Pyrobel Killester secured the win on the road against IT Carlow Basketball.
