Portlaoise struggle to gain some traction in Division One as they lose again to Limerick
Kyle Burke goes for the basket from the free line Photo: David Maher
ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers 66
Limerick Sport Eagles 83
HAVING seen their hopes of another strong run in the National Cup snuffed out early on by Limerick Sport Eagles only last month, ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers came undone again against the same opposition when they met in Division One action back in St. Mary’s Hall on Saturday night.
The pain of that cup defeat had been exacerbated by the loss of high-flying centre, Rich Ashu to a season-ending injury and signalled the start of a disappointing run in the National League that has since seen Panthers lose their last five games and slip to fourth place in the South Conference.
Saturday’s clash with Limerick marked Amiri Stewart’s first competitive outing for Portlaoise, and the former NCAA Division One player made a strong start for the hosts with a game-high 17 points, five rebounds and three assists by the close of proceedings.
Davin McEvoy and Kevin Donohoe also hit double figures for Panthers, but it was not enough to see them prevail against a Limerick side that saw two of their players, Ryan Leonard and Tobias Christensen each card a double-double, as they combined for 28 points and 21 rebounds.
Darragh Horkan, Alexander Carlisle and Sean Ryan also inflicted some serious damage for the visitors as they totalled 37 points, while winning 19 boards on the night.
An early three from Horkan, together with a bucket from Daniel Shahab and a free-throw from Carlisle helped Limerick into a 6-2 lead within the opening three minutes.
But two free throws and a layup by Amiri Stewart, together with timely trebles from Xabi Arriaga helped see Portlaoise overtake by four soon after.
Limerick were not fazed, however, and a ten-point run that included superb efforts from beyond the arc by Shahab and Sean Ryan, put them back in control at 24-17 by the end of the first quarter, Kevin Donohoe helping Portlaoise stay in touch by way of a nice triple himself.
The home side reduced their arrears to three within two minutes of the start of the second quarter, as McEvoy and Dylan Dunne both picked up a brace.
But Eagles steadied the ship, helped no end by an eight-point run that included fine scores in the paint by Sean Ryan, Shahab and Christensen.
Stewart did manage to arrest that surge with a deuce, but the momentum remained very much with the visitors, as Leonard got in for a basket before Carlisle converted two from the free-throw line.
Both sides cancelled each out over the closing three minutes of the first half, Kyle Burke draining four of six uncontested shots for the home side, while Ronan Cregan and Leonard responded with two apiece from the floor to help leave Limerick 17 points ahead (46-29) at the break.
Matters did not look set to improve for Jack Scully’s side after the interval as Horkan’s treble made it a 20-point game less than a minute in.
But Portlaoise kept on battling, Stewart cancelling out that score, before Donohue picked up points from the free-throw line and down the lane.
McEvoy and Dunne also weighed in with timely buckets, after which Arriaga picked up an ‘and one’ to help close the gap to seven points.
Yet Limerick did arrest that recovery somewhat by way of fine strike off the three-point line by Carlisle and a deuce from Fryderyk Klimas that saw them take a ten-point cushion (64-54) into the fourth.
Panthers were unable to make any in-roads into that deficit over the closing ten minutes, despite McEvoy serving up five and Jayden Umeh landing a nice three, as Christensen, Horkan and Leonard kept the buckets coming for Limerick, who subsequently improved their league record to eight and four.
ND AUDIT PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Dylan Dunne, Amiri Darrell Stewart, Jayden Umeh, Trevor Swayne, Davin McEvoy, Kevin Donohoe, Xabier Arriaga, Kyle Burke.
Top Scorers: Amiri Darrell Stewart (17), Davin McEvoy (13), Kevin Donohoe (11).
LIMERICK SPORT EAGLES: Fryderyk Klimas, Daniel Shahab, Kirill Yakovlev, Ryan Leonard, Darragh Horkan, Alexander Carlisle, Sean Ryan, Ronan Cregan, Tobias Christensen.
Top Scorers: Ryan Leonard (15), Darragh Horkan (15), Tobias Christensen (13), Alexander Carlisle (12), Sean Ryan (10).
