Portlaoise return to winning ways in Division One with hard-fought triumph over Templeogue

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers 84 

Templeogue 79 

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers head coach, Jack Scully was delighted to see his players arrest a five-game losing streak in Domino’s Men’s Division One when they welcomed Templeogue to St. Mary’s Hall on Friday night.

Having gone almost a month without a competitive fixture, the Laois side took the opportunity to regroup and bed in new arrival, Amiri Darrell Stewart who enjoyed a big night against Templeogue, amassing 28 points, seven assists and four rebounds.

Xabi Arriaga was 63 percent off the three-point line, as he emerged from this game on a double double of 23 points and 13 rebounds, all of those under the defensive board.

They were much-needed contributions for Portlaoise, who, despite having opened up a 21-point advantage early in the second quarter, were forced to weather a huge revival by their Dublin rivals that was fuelled largely by Evan Cook’s game-high 29 points.

While admitting it was not the tidiest of performances, Scully was just happy to see his players make it over the line and get motoring again in the South Conference.

“We’re absolutely delighted to get the win and get that monkey off our back” he told the Laois Nationalist.

“We won seven in a row and then we lost five in a row. We’re after having had a month’s break, and in that time, there have been players in and players out.

“We’ve had to change our style of play because of our size, and that game against Templeogue was our first test with that new style of play, and I felt for most of the first half we executed well and we built ourselves a commanding lead.

“But then we fizzled out a little bit in the second half and gave them opportunities to come back into the game. But overall, I’m just delighted to get a win on the board” he said.

Buckets from Cook and Millan Lopez in the opening minute had Templeogue 4-2 in front, but that would prove to be the last time the visitors would lead in this game, as Portlaoise responded with a nine-point run that included inside scores from Love Omoijade and Dylan Dunne, along with the first of Arriaga’s five trebles.

A further ten unanswered points, that also saw Davin McEvoy and Stewart convert from beyond the arc, helped see Panthers end the opening quarter with a 27-14 advantage.

They continued to build on that in the second period, accounting for the next five points as Stewart and Kyle Burke delivered from beyond and inside the three-point line respectively.

Cook did land a triple for Templeogue, but Portlaoise kept on motoring as Arriaga inflicted more damage from downtown and the perimeter to help rocket his side into a 39-18 lead.

It looked like it was going to be a long night for the visitors, but they demonstrated great tenacity to reduce to their arrears to 11 points (49-38) by the half-time recess, as Lopez drained a three and Cook increased his first-half tally to 16.

Portlaoise opened the second half with another treble from Stewart, but Templeogue kept on coming, Hector Parras responding in kind for the Dublin side before Daire Murray, Conor Gallagher, Jake Mullins and Cook all hit scores to close the gap to just four points.

Two free throws from Trevor Swayne and another from Stewart pushed the home side’s lead back out to seven (69-62) by the end of the third quarter, but Templeogue were going nowhere, and twice got back to within five of their opponents.

Still, Portlaoise, desperate for their first ‘W’ since mid-November, managed to keep their guests at bay, Arriaga serving up some timely points from the free-throw line and outside the arc.

Parras struck in the paint while Cook and Gallagher converted free throws to leave just three between the sides with a minute-and-a-half remaining, but Dylan Dunne held his nerve from the line to land two more uncontested shots and help secure a crucial victory for the hosts.

Portlaoise boss, Scully will now be hoping his side can build on this win when they make the trip to Killarney to take on South Conference leaders, St. Paul’s next Saturday.

“We’re still right in the hunt for play-offs, so the next couple of weeks are going to be crucial, starting on Saturday night with an away game against St. Paul’s” he stressed.

“Every single win, especially in conference games is huge for us now, so I’m delighted for the team to get back to winning ways” he said.

ND AUDIT PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Brayan DeSouza, Dylan Dunne, Amiri Darrell Stewart, Jayden Umeh, Conor Byrne, Trevor Swayne, Davin McEvoy, Xabi Arriaga, Love Omoijade, Kyle Burke, Justice Iheme.

Top Scorers: Amiri Darrell Stewart (28), Xabi Arriaga (23), Love Omoijade (8).

TEMPLEOGUE: Conor Gallagher, Eduardo Castano, Evan Cook, Adam Tighe, Jake Mullins, Hector Parras, Daniel Cassidy, Aaron Doherty, Daire Murray, Jack Finn, Millan Lopez, Michael Gormley.

Top Scorers: Evan Cook (29), Hector Parras (12), Millan Lopez (12).