Portlaoise Pathers' hearts broken by Lions' three-point buzzer-beater
Portlaoise Panthers new coaching ticket - Aaron O'Neill, Jack Scully, Mark Bartley and Mark O'Dwyer Photo: David Maher
A THREE-POINT buzzer beater by Jordan Whelan denied Bowes Auto Centre Portlaoise Panthers a winning start under reappointed head coach, Jack Scully when they made the trip to Coláiste Bhríde in Clondalkin for their latest Men’s National League Division One outing against Dublin Lions on Friday night.
Having found themselves 11 points down early in the fourth quarter, Portlaoise hauled themselves all the way back on to level terms at 81 points apiece with just 12 seconds remaining, only to be undone by Whelan’s treble at the death.
That dramatic winner took the Dublin Lions player’s tally to a game-high 26 on the night, as the home side finished with four players in double figures, including Aran Lee and Omari Nesbit, each on 16.
Portlaoise, themselves, ended the game with four in double digits, Rich Ashu emerging their most prolific scorer on 18 despite having been forced to the bench late on due to foul trouble.
He, along with Kevin Donohoe, carded double-doubles on the night, the two players combining for 22 rebounds, while Tommy DiRienzo and Davin McEvoy also made significant contributions on the scoreboard with a total of 33 points.
Still, while it was not enough to see them prevail in this encounter, head coach Scully, who only took charge of the team again following the dismissal of Ciarán Kiveney earlier in the week, remained upbeat after the defeat, telling the “We’re very disappointed to lose the game on the buzzer.
“I thought we fought really well and I thought our defence was tough. We kept them to 35 points in the second half, but we were massively under-sized for most of the game and Rich Ashu, getting in foul trouble, did not help our situation.
“But, overall, after a week’s training, I’m happy enough with the progress and really excited to get back to St. Mary’s Hall for our cup game against Killarney” he said.
A treble from Nesbit opened proceedings for Lions just 30 seconds in, and the home side managed to hold on to the lead for much of the first quarter as Whelan, Lee, and Kyria Tembe weighed in with buckets, while Tiernan Howe struck from downtown.
But Portlaoise remained hot on their heels, as Donohoe drained attempts from both sides of the arc while McEvoy and Jayden Umeh also delivered from long range before a deuce from Ashu, a treble from Dylan Dunne and two free throws from Gary Morrissey helped the visitors open up a 30-23 lead by the end of that opening period.
Lions, however, began to work their way back and managed to restore parity at 34 points apiece when Lee converted in the paint just over three minutes into the second quarter.
That was followed up by an eight-point run for the Clondalkin side that featured another three from Howe and propelled them into a 49-42 lead by the half-time interval.
Portlaoise went almost a further four minutes without a score in the third quarter, during which time, Lions pushed their lead out to 14 points, as Whelan struck from off the three-point line and Tembe and Lee each registered a deuce.
Panthers managed to recoup some ground with seven unanswered points from Ashu and McEvoy only to see Lions push on again with the aid of a big four-point play by Nesbit that helped see them take a 68-58 advantage into the final quarter.
Two uncontested shots by Shareef Elmahi enlarged that advantage slightly to 11, with just over eight minutes remaining, but Portlaoise dug in and began to work their way back again, starting with a treble from DiRienzo.
That was soon followed by a further eight-point surge for Scully’s side, Umeh and Donohoe contributing to that run, before DiRienzo struck from outside and Dylan Dunne and Umeh added doubles to leave the game deadlocked at 81-81.
It forced Lions to call a timeout in order to orchestrate their final play in regulation time, and it proved decisive, as Whelan maintain his composure to put his long-range effort through the string right on the final buzzer.
While Panthers will be bitterly disappointed at slipping to 2 and 3 in the table, they will be looking to pick themselves up quickly for the visit of SPK Utility Trust Lakers to Portlaoise for their National Cup opener this weekend.
Tiernan Howe, Shareef Elmahi, Neil Kavanagh, Toms Ludsbarzs, Kyria Tembe, Aran Lee, Omari Nesbit, Liam Osinuga, Jordan Whelan.
Top Scorers: Jordan Whelan (26), Aran Lee (16), Omari Nesbit (16), Tiernan Howe (11).
Cillian O’Connell, Dylan Dunne, Jayden Umeh, Trevor Swayne, Davin McEvoy, Kevin Donohoe, Rich Ashu, Gary Morrissey, Tommy DiRienzo.
Top Scorers: Rich Ashu (18), Tommy DiRienzo (17), Davin McEvoy (16), Kevin Donohoe (14).
