Portlaoise Panthers men forced to dig deep to see off dogged Ulster

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers 79 

Ulster University 77 

IT was certainly not the prettiest of performances, but ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers again demonstrated a level of grit and determination that earned them a thrilling two-point win over Ulster University and improved their perfect record at the top of the Men’s Division One North Conference to 11 and 0.

Eager to avenge their 14-point reversal at the hands of Jack Scully’s side in Jordanstown back in October, Ulster hounded their hosts from start to finish in the return fixture in St Mary’s Hall on Sunday afternoon.

Indeed, even after Portlaoise had pulled 14 points clear of their opponents in the fourth quarter, Ulster stormed back into a one-point advantage with 30 seconds remaining, and it was only a late Eric Anderson bucket that saw the hosts prevail.

While they may not have been at their best, offensively, Portlaoise still had Xabi Arriaga delivering the goods with a game-high 28 points, including seven buckets from beyond the arc that helped counter the 24 total that Conor Liston served up for Ulster.

“I’m really happy with the way we dug that one out,” Portlaoise head coach, Jack Scully told the ****Laois Nationalist. “It definitely wasn’t one of our better performances, but just to get the win was really important.

“We struggled with their physicality for the whole game and our offence wasn’t ticking quite as efficiently as we would have liked, but it’s Christmas week, everybody’s been off, so it was always going to be a tough one.

“Down the stretch we had to show some real character and resolve to get over the line, so I was really pleased to see that,” he added.

While it was Ulster who drew first blood in this contest by way of a Liston bucket, Portlaoise appeared to gain a hold on proceedings, as an eight-point run saw them open up a 21-9 lead, Arriaga posting a couple of big threes.

Yet the visitors accounted for the final six points of that period to reduce their arrears to as much heading into the second quarter, Liston, himself, striking from beyond the arc before Aaron Rooney landed a buzzer-beating deuce.

Ulster carried that momentum back on to the court and closed the gap to a solitary point after Odhran Hegarty shot a three and Robert Graham added a bucket from the other side of the line.

And while Portlaoise did appear to steady the ship by re-establishing a seven-point cushion, Ulster stormed back to overtake into a one-point lead with a seven-point run that was completed with another downtown bucket from Liston.

An Eric Anderson deuce did arrest that surge and left the home side ahead by the narrowest of margins (35-34) at the half-time break.

It continued to prove a tight affair throughout the third quarter, Portlaoise producing a couple of mini-surges to open up a little breathing room, as Arriaga and James Phelan combined for 14 points in that period.

Yet Ulster kept battling back and yet another big shot off the three-point line by Liston saw them reduce their arrears to five before Arriaga got in for a basket just ahead of the buzzer to leave Portlaoise 60-53 in front heading into the fourth.

Arriaga continued to plague Ulster from outside the arc, nailing three from distance in less than two minutes before Gary Morrissey tagged on a basket to see Portlaoise push their lead out to 14 points.

But, not for the first time in this contest, Ulster dug in, making the stops and putting together a 10-point run that included buckets from Curtis Larousse and Shane Morgan, hauling them back to within four and forcing Portlaoise to call a time-out.

Panthers looked to have regained their composure as scores from Liam Kinsella and Anderson re-established a nine-point cushion with three-and-a-half minutes to go.

Yet, given the tenacity of this Ulster side, the Portlaoise faithful were kept on the edge of the seats, and for good reason, as scores from Liston and Robert Graham, along with two free-throws from Larousse helped see them overtake by a point with 30 seconds remaining.

Another time-out was required as the home side looked to orchestrate a winning finishing to this game and it duly materialised in the form of an Anderson deuce that was supplemented by a free throw from Phelan.

“We’re absolutely delighted to get another win on the board and keep the unbeaten record intact,” smiled Scully. “We’ll put that one behind us now and we’ll look forward to UL next week and the National Cup in two weeks’ time.” ND AUDIT PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Cillian O’Connell, James Phelan, Eric Anderson, Davin McEvoy, Kevin Donohoe, Gary Morrissey, Xabi Arriaga, Kyle Burke, Aleksandar Kovacevic, Liam Kinsella.

Top Scorers: Xabi Arriaga (28), James Phelan (15), Eric Anderson (13), Liam Kinsella (11).

ULSTER UNIVERSITY: Robert Graham, Aaron Rooney, Odhran Hegarty, Adam Ryan, Shane O’Connor, Conor Liston, Shane Morgan, Nathan Karren, Darragh Ferguson, Curtis Larousse.

Top Scorers: Conor Liston (24), Curtis Larousse (14), Nathan Karren (10), Robert Graham (9).