Pat Duffy National Cup Quarter Final
UCC Demons 73
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors 68
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors exited the National Cup at the quarter final stage succumbing to UCC Demons by 73-68 in a surprisingly low scoring contest at Neptune Stadium on Saturday. The Warriors were second best in the exchanges in the opening half but conjured up comebacks in both the third and fourth quarters to keep their Cup hopes alive. However the defending champions summoned one final push late on that saw them secure their safe passage to the last four of the competition.
Demons intentions were clear from the moment their big American forward Elijah Tillman won the tip and seconds later was in his accustomed spot under the board to slam in the opening score. The Warriors quickly replied through Rap Buivydas and a major score from Greg Adon but Demons powered away through Patrick Robinson with a double, and efforts from Toby Christensen and James Hannigan to lead 14-7 mid-way through the first. Adon fired down another three for Warriors but Scott Hannigan and stalwart Kyle Hosford were also on the mark from outside to see the Leesiders lead 24-14 at quarter time.
The Warriors briefly steadied the ship with Mark Stephens, Adon and Buivydas combining to keep the Tralee side in the game but the team overall was struggling to find and real rhythm. Elijah Tillman struck twice in quick succession to push the Demons lead out to 9 it forced a Warriors timeout. Out of the quick break Eoin Quigley and James Hannigan exchanged scores but Tillman’s influence in the Warriors paint continued and he helped himself to 4 from 4 from the line from fouls either side of a Buivydas double that cut the gap to 6. The last act of the half saw Tillman on the mark yet again to bring his personal tally to 20 and see Demons lead 40-32 at the long break.
Demons fired their way further ahead early in the third with Robinson finding the target twice to stretch the advantage out to 12. The Warriors looked decidedly out of sorts with both Brandon Mahan and Daniel Jokubaitis picking up knocks that blunted their offensive threat but Buivydas, Stephens and Adon battled defiantly to haul their side back into the game again. Buivydas delivered back to back tough finishes and Stephens slalomed his way to the Demons board before Hosford knocked down a three to arrest the Warriors quick run. In an instant response, Adon added six unanswered points to pare the lead back to a single score. Tillman who had been relatively quiet in the quarter then produced another typical effort before Dave Lehane restored a 5 point advantage with 2’00’’ on the clock. Mark Stephens then chose his moment to take centre stage and fire the Warriors right back into contention with 10 points from two baskets each from inside and outside to see the Tralee side take the lead for the first time in the game at 55-54 up at three quarter time.
Warriors needed a fast start to the fourth to maintain the momentum but instead it was Demons through Tillman, Robinson and a major from James Hannigan that turned the tide back Demons way and see the defending champions lead 61-55. With Mahan and Jokubaitis still out of sorts, Stephens and Buivydas continued to land tough shots and edged the Warriors 62-61 ahead again midway through the final quarter. However that was as good as it got for the Warriors as Patrick Robinson came up big from Demons down the stretch with a double followed by a game winning dagger three pointer that effectively settled the contest. Josh Osayanrhion entered the fray to hit a score with his first touch but MVP Tillman almost pulled the Warriors backboard down with another signature score to seal the deal on the final score of 73-68.
UCC Demons: Elijah Tillman 28, Patrick Robinson 20, James Hannigan 10
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors: Mark Stephens 22, Rap Buivydas 19, Greg Adon 17
The sides meet again in Tralee next Friday in Super League with the Warriors having the chance to avenge the loss on home court and an opportunity to quickly get back to winning ways ahead of three more home games in a row against UCD Marian, Flexachem KCYMS and Griffith College Éanna before Christmas.
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors take on UCC Demons on Friday 13th December at the Tralee Sports Complex with tip off at 8.00pm.