IN a match strewn with errors, but bristling with nervous cup tension, St Vincent's did enough to reach the Sprite Cup men's final at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght last night with this a 14-point victory.
In a game which swung one way then the other, it was debutants St Paul's, Killarney, who showed fewer nerves to take an eight-point lead midway through the first half.
However, the young St Vincent's squad, well chaperoned by veterans Mark Keenan and former NBA player Doug Arnold, eventually settled and in the second quarter made their substantial height advantage tell to take a 38-37 interval lead.
The third quarter saw St Paul's Irish players Brian Clarke, Vince Daly and Cormack O'Donoghue, perform heroically to compensate for Americans Nick Browning and Corey Jackson, who were largely anonymous in that period. But they couldn't prevent St Vincent's from steadily building up a 13-point lead (66-53) entering the final 10 minutes.
Using the twin towers of Arnold and Stevens to dominate the boards, and the driving of Stephen McGuirk and Mick Richardson to vary their offences, St Vincent's staved off a final surge by St Paul's. They then built up a flattering margin of victory mainly from the free throw line in the final few minutes.
Arnold, Stevens and McGuirk ended up with over 20 points each, while Killarney were let down for a while by both of their Americans but, in particular, by Jackson who contributed only 11 points.
