Portlaoise see off Ravens to reach last eight of Men’s Under 20 National Cup

Basketball Ireland U/20 Men’s National Cup 

Portlaoise Panthers 78 

Rathmore Ravens 56 

PORTLAOISE Panthers secured further passage through to the last eight of the Men’s Under 20 National Cup at the expense of a gritty Rathmore Ravens outfit whom they eventually beat by 22 points when they clashed in St. Mary’s Hall on Saturday evening.

The home side finished with four players in double digits, including Justice Iheme who chalked up a game-high 20 points, while Jayden Umeh and Desmond Ogedegbe each bagged 17 and Brayan DeSouza a further 14.

Indeed, Portlaoise’s fire power did finally overwhelm a tough Ravens team who trailed by only seven points at halftime, but they were unable to shackle their opponents in the second half despite the combined 31 points that Shane Daly, David Darmody and Damian Moynihan carded on the day.

Rathmore enjoyed a bright start to this contest, Moynihan landing an early three to get the scoreboard moving before Darmody followed suit to help the visitors open up an 8-4 lead with just under two minutes gone.

But Portlaoise responded with the next six points to take the lead for the first time almost midway through the opening quarter, Ogedegbe, Umeh and DeSouza all contributing to that run.

Shane Daly struck twice off the three-point line to re-establish Rathmore’s four-point lead only to see Panthers string together a nine-point run as Iheme and Ogedegbe picked up scores from both the field and free-throw line to leave their side ahead 21-16 by the end of the first quarter.

Rathmore managed to reduce their arrears to one as Damian and Conor Moynihan picked up points in the paint before Portlaoise got motoring again through Love Omoijade.

And they managed to remain out in front as Luke Kavanagh, DeSouza, Umeh and Iheme all drained fine buckets to increased their lead slightly to seven points (36-29) by the half-time recess, James Twomey and Shane Daly striking from either side of the arc in an effort to keep Ravens in touch.

Conor Moynihan got in to see the visitors draw first blood in the second half, but Portlaoise hit back with a quick brace from Iheme, before later serving up a six-point surge courtesy of DeSouza and Umeh, who both struck from downtown to help propel Portlaoise 17-points clear.

Rathmore were struggling to rein in their hosts, and while Darmody picked up a deuce and both Ezekiel Mobolagi and John Hughes got some return from the free-throw line, Iheme put both of his uncontested shots through the string to leave his side 54-39 to the good heading into the fourth and final period.

That quarter opened up with buckets from DeSouza and Iheme either side of a John Hughes triple for Rathmore, the latter also carding two free throws before Daly and Tadhg Jack O’Leary enjoyed some success down the lane to make it a 10-point game with just over six minutes remaining.

But Portlaoise managed to steady the ship with a nine-point surge that featured timely threes from Ogedegbe and DeSouza before Luke Kavanagh added two free throws as the home side 26 points clear.

Darmody did land a late three for Rathmore, but it was Portlaoise who had the last word when DeSouza served up a deuce in the closing minute to cap a fine performance by his side.

That victory sees Portlaoise through to the last eight of the competition where they will take on a Limerick Celtics side who stormed to an emphatic 90-20 point victory over Moycullen in their respective last 16 outing in Crescent College on Sunday, five players hitting double figures for the winners, including Michael Cleary and Matthew Barry on 18 points apiece.

PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Justice Iheme, Scott Davis, Luke Kavanagh, Jayden Umeh, Echezona Onuroah, Brayan DeSouza, Love Omoijade, Ciara Daly, Desmond Ogedegbe, Billy Muldowney, Riley Comerford.

Top Scorers: Justice Iheme (20), Jayden Umeh (17), Desmond Ogedegbe (17), Brayan DeSouza (14).

RATHMORE RAVENS: Shane Daly, Tadhg Jack O’Leary, Conor Moynihan, David Darmody, Damian Moynihan, Dylan Bowler, John Hughes, Ezekiel Mobolagi, James Twomey, Paul Togher.

Top Scorers: Shane Daly (13), David Darmody (9), Damian Moynihan (9), John Hughes (8).