Mixed fortunes for Portlaoise in Men’s Division One double-game weekend

Titans BC 105 

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers 59 T

HERE were mixed fortunes for ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers in their Men’s National League Division One double-game weekend.

Just two days after having dished out a 103-83 defeat to Tipp Talons in St. Mary’s Hall, the Laois side were on the receiving end of a heavy 105-59 loss against Titans BC in Ballinfoyle Community Centre on Sunday afternoon.

Against Tipp, Amiri Darrell Stewart had chalked up a huge haul of 35 points, seven rebounds and six assists for Portlaoise, but he was confined to just 17 points by a Titans side that were all too aware of the threat he posed.

And while their defence also shackled more of Panthers’ big guns in the likes of Davin McEvoy and Xabi Arriaga, their own went off as the Galway side finished with no less than five players in double digits, including Umar Rachid who drained every one of his 11 efforts on the inside on his way to a game-high 30-points.

Both Declan Gbinigie and Fortune Igbokwe carded double-doubles, the two combining for 32 points and 25 rebounds, while Ben Powell and Viktor Tashev, between them, added a further 25 points to the scoreboard for the hosts.

It was much-needed win for Titans who were looking to preserve their hopes of a play-off berth by leap-frogging Portlaoise into fourth place in the South Conference table.

Against Talons on Friday, Portlaoise enjoyed a 43 percent success rate from off the three-point line, but that dipped to just 15 percent against Titans, as they saw just four of their 26 efforts from distance drop through the string.

Titans inflicted a lot of damage from inside, with 72 points chalked up in that area by the close of proceedings, and they had 10 points on the board before Portlaoise finally managed to open their own account by way of a Kevin Donohoe treble almost four minutes into the game.

Matthew Sweeney, Joseph Coughlan, Rachid and Gbinigie all weighed in on that early run for the hosts, the latter chalking up nine points in the opening quarter, at the end of which Titans led 30-17.

Donohoe did his best to keep Portlaoise in touch with a 10-point total in the opening ten minutes, but the visitors were again kept scoreless for more than half of the second period, during which Titans exerted a stranglehold on this tie with a further 16 unanswered points.

Ben Powell and Sweeney both landed efforts from beyond the arc during that decisive run for the home side that propelled them 29 points clear of their opponents.

And while a deuce from Donohoe did get Panthers up and running again, they were unable to recoup any more ground by the half-time recess, at which point they trailed 58-30.

Jack Scully’s side were just unable to garner any sort of momentum, the visitors shipping the opening six points of the second half, as Gbinigie and Igbokwe delivered in the paint.

And that gap continued to be enlarged as Rachid drained shots from both sides of the three-point line, amassing 13 in that penultimate period alone to help see his side take an 85-44 advantage into the fourth.

In the face of this insurmountable deficit, Scully ran his young guns, Justice Iheme, Love Omoijade and Desmond Ogedegbe getting in some valuable game time down the stretch.

Panthers, still with two games in hand over Titans, will be hoping they can reclaim the last of the play-off spots in their conference, which they set about doing this Saturday when they make the trip to Ulster University.

With Ulster, themselves, engaged in a fierce battle for a top-four placing in the North Conference, this weekend’s clash will represent another huge challenge for Portlaoise.

TITANS BC: Joseph Coughlan, Viktor Tashev, Chinonso Stephan Owede, Fortune Igbokwe, Ben Powell, Eoin Coughlan, Umar Rachid, Declan Gbinigie, Matthew Sweeney, Nathan Gbinigie.

Top Scorers: Umar Rachid (30) Declan Gbinigie (22), Ben Powell (14), Viktor Tashev (11), Fortune Igbokwe (10).

ND AUDIT PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Dylan Dunne, Amiri Darrell Stewart, Justice Iheme, Trevor Swayne, Davin McEvoy, Kevin Donohoe, Xabi Arriaga, Love Omoijade, Desmond Ogedegbe.

Top Scorers: Amiri Darrell Stewart (17), Kevin Donohoe (12), Trevor Swayne (10).