Killarney Cougars 79
Dublin Lions 104
David Ahern reports
Killarney Cougars hosted the Dublin Lions at the Presentation Gym chasing a second consecutive national league home win but it was the in-form Lions that came out on top before a good attendance.
The visitors were quick to settle with Kevin Obasuyi and Ringo Dau on target in the opening minutes with the Cougars’ Marty Hill getting into early foul trouble.
Cougars responded well and baskets by Andrew Fitzgerald and Marty Hill and two by Esebio Strijdhaftig pushed them into a 10-8 lead.
Significantly, however, a third foul called on Marty Hill impacted on his performance and the Lions gained a grip with two threes by Tiernan Howe seeing them lead 25-19 by the end of the quarter, despite good scores by Esebio Strijdhaftig and Jack Lynch to keep the Cougars in contention.
A good start to the second quarter saw the Cougars tie the game 25-25 with scores by Tommy Bowler, Esebio Strijdhaftig and Andrew Fitzgerald. The visitors responded with three consecutive three-pointers – two from Toms Ludbarzs – which saw them open up a lead they were to build upon to lead 52-40 at half-time.
The Cougars worked hard to get back into the game but Ringo Dau opened up the quarter with a big three-pointer for the Lions to increase the lead before the Cougars’ Jack Lynch and Marty Hill added three-pointers to stay in touch.
A strong quarter by young Jack Lych saw him finish that period with 11 points but it was not enough as the Lions’ confidence grew and their excellent three-point shooting had them well on top by the end of the quarter.
The Lions comfortably maintained their lead through the final quarter, despite good work by Jack Lynch and Marty Hill, and the visitors finished the game with a total of 14 three-pointers and this proved decisive.
Positives for the Cougars were the fact that new signing Marty Hill continues to settle in with 24 points on this occasion, despite early foul trouble, and young Jack Lynch notched 21 points.
Next up for the Cougars is a trip north to face Team North West in Letterkenny before a home game against league leaders Tolka Rovers in two weeks’ time.
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