UCD Marian vs Garvey’s Tralee Warriors

Recap

Garvey’s Tralee Warriors sit proudly on top of the Super League table alongside the only other unbeaten team in the League, Griffith College Éanna, after making it four from four with a 101-87 win over UCD Marian at the Belfield Sports Centre on Saturday night. The Warriors led from start to finish and kept their former arch-rivals in check throughout the contest and to see out a 14 point win in the end.

In a lively opening quarter Eoin Quigley wasted no time to fire in from distance and Rap Buiyvdas followed suit to strike twice from beyond the arc. At the other end the dynamic Jonathan Jean with a double and a major from Matthew McGrath saw Marian bridge the gap to 15-10 but when Daniel Jokuabitis and Marquavian Stephens combined the lead blew out to double scores. However, a major score each from Colm O’Reilly and Tanner Graham helped keep the lead to 29-21 at quarter time.

The second quarter was a scrappy affair with neither side managing to get any offensive momentum going. Defensively both sides dominated with the Warriors limited to scores from Stephens and Gregorio Adon and Marian through Cian Tiernan, Jean and Guillem Bigas. Quigley and Graham exchanged scores before Adon launched a cracking effort from outside to put 10 between the sides. But Graham replied in kind for Marian to pare the Warriors lead back to 42-35 at the long break.

The Warriors asserted early in the third quarter and a scoring blitz that saw them build on their halftime advantage to ease 20 points ahead. Four baskets from Stephens, two from Buivydas and efforts from inside and out from Adon threatened a Warriors blowout. But Marian to their credit chipped away and when the impressive Jonathan Jean found both his rhythm and the Warriors basket and with Eoin Nelson also in range the hosts stayed in the game. Major efforts from Buivydas, Jokubaitis and James Fernane edged the Warriors further ahead but Jean continued to threaten and finished the quarter with 16 points to keep the game alive at 71-60 at three quarter time.

The visitors pushed on again early in the final quarter and with Jokuabitis, Stephens and Fernane combining for 16 points and despite scores from Jean, Bigas, Nelson and Oscar Blanco the Warriors were in full control up 87-61 midway through the quarter. A Jokubaitis double from distance were the insurance scores but Marian played all the way to the buzzer and Nelson, McGrath, Ronan Byrne and O’Reilly keeping John Dowling’s side honest. Cian Sullivan got in on the act late on for the Warriors with a double and Joshua Osayanrhion had the honour of laying up the score that pushed the Warriors over to 100 point mark to seal the win and secure a share of top spot on the Super League table after four rounds of action.