Mixed fortunes for Portlaoise Panthers men in their return to National League action

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers stumbled back into Men’s National League Division One action over the weekend, as Saturday’s 91-82 victory at home to Titans BC was quickly followed by their first defeat of the campaign when they went on the road to Tipp Talons on Sunday, losing out 75-65 in Scoil Ruain.

Head coach, Jack Scully had a tough task on his hands in steadying the ship after Panthers’ early exit from the National Cup at the hands of Limerick Sport Eagles the previous week, when they also lost the services of Rich Ashu to a dislocated knee that has him sidelined for the rest of the season.

The absence of the hugely influential centre, who had made a superb start to the season, averaging 25.3 points and 14.3 rebounds in his opening six games in the league, is a massive void to fill, but American point guard, Mike Wallace certainly stepped up to the plate last weekend.

Indeed, he served up a huge performance against Titans on Saturday, amassing 43 points, with seven rebounds and five assists to boot.

That contribution, together with the combined 30 that Xabi Arriaga and Kevin Donohoe recorded in St. Mary’s Hall that evening, went a long way to countering the 42 that Fortune Igbokwe and Matthew Sweeney totalled between them for the Galway outfit.

Umar Rachid was another of the big hitters for Titans, particularly in the opening quarter, when he hit 13 of the 15 points he registered on the night.

Yet Wallace’s start to the game was even more breath-taking, as he drained six of his seven attempts from the field and all seven of his free throws for a total of 19, which, along with eight from Arriaga, fuelled Panthers’ drive into a 35-27 lead by the close of the first quarter.

Arriaga pushed that advantage out to 11 when he landed a triple early on in the second period, but Titans remained well in the reckoning as Igbokwe picked up 10 points from the paint and perimeter, while Sweeney and Alan Fitzgerald both hit threes to see the visitors close the gap to just two points (50-48) by the half-time break.

And they continued on to overtake by three early in the third, as Comhghall McCormack struck for three and Igbokwe picked up a couple more buckets on the inside.

But Portlaoise hit back with the next six points through Wallace and Kevin Donohoe before going on a further 10-point run that helped propel them into a 71-60 lead heading into the fourth.

Titans, to their credit, continued to put it up to their hosts, as McCormack picked up another 10 points to help drag his side back to within four of their opponents with just under a minute remaining.

But Portlaoise managed to hold firm on the home straight, bagging the game’s last five points, all of which came from the free-throw line through Arriaga and Dylan Dunne to see out that tie.

That win saw them extend their perfect start in Division One to seven games, but it was quickly followed by their first reversal in this season’s competition as they fell victim to a Tipp Talons outfit that was three from six coming into this latest contest on Sunday.

Again Wallace recorded another huge display as he emerged with 32 points and six boards to his name by the close of proceedings, Arriaga and Davin McEvoy also hitting double figures with 12 and 10-point totals respectively.

But it was not enough to stave off a determined Talons side, who stormed back in the second half, helped no end by Michael Pierre, Matthew McHale and former Portlaoise player, Aleksandar Kovacevic who, between them, chalked up 50 points, 20 rebounds and 13 assists.

Portlaoise did enjoy a solid start to this contest, a 13-point haul by Wallace helping them into an 18-14 lead by the end of the first quarter.

But Tipp remained well in touch, as buckets from Pierre and Rian Broderick, along with triples from Kovacevic and Patrick O’Keeffe helped see them overtake with just under four minutes to go until half-time.

But Portlaoise managed to retake the lead ahead of the break, Wallace, McEvoy, Kyle Burke all draining big buckets to leave their side up 39-34 heading into the third.

Again, Talons remained very much on the heels of their opponents and retook the lead, albeit briefly when Matthew McHale got in for a deuce.

But Wallace struck from both sides of the arc to hand the initiative back to Portlaoise, who with the aid of three free throws from Arriaga took a narrow 52-49 lead into the fourth.

Trevor Swayne doubled the advantage to six when he struck from off the three-point line, but the roof began to cave in on Portlaoise thereafter.

Indeed, they were kept scoreless for the following six minutes, during which time Talons went on 15-point run that included triples from Mirza Beganovic, Arthur Geronimo and Pierre to leave them nine points up.

And try as they might, there was no way back for Portlaoise as their hosts managed to remain out of reach down the stretch thanks in no small measure to buckets from downtown by Emmanuel Kabengele and Kovacevic.

Portlaoise boss, Scully will be hoping his side can quickly bounce back from that wobble when they make the trip to Moy Tolka Rovers next Saturday. The Dublin side having made a solid start to their own National League campaign with five wins from their opening eight games.