Portlaoise take down unbeaten Templeogue in Under 20 National League

Templeogue 81 

Portlaoise Panthers 85 

PORTLAOISE Panthers brought Templeogue’s unbeaten run in this season’s Men’s Under 20 National League to an end after they clinched a thrilling 85-81 victory over the Dublin side in Presentation Community College, Terenure.

Desmond Ogedegbe was on fire for the visitors, draining six attempts from beyond the arc on his way to a colossal haul of 39 points, while Brayan DeSouza, Jayden Umeh and Love Omoijade also finished in double digits to help Panthers improve their record to 3-2 in Group One.

Templeogue, helped by their top scorer Wilfred Omorusi (20 points), took a six-point lead into the half-time break, but Portlaoise flipped that deficit into a one-point advantage by the close of the third period and managed to keep their opponents at bay throughout the fourth.

Omorusi, Tom Sinnott and Vlad Povstian led the way for Templeogue, the former racking up 13 points by the time the half-time buzzer had sounded.

Ogedegbe had gone one better by that stage, while DeSouza had 10 on the board to help keep the Laois side well in the reckoning.

The former, however, went off in the second half, amassing a huge 25 points, as Portlaoise fought their way back for a victory that leaves them very much on a sound footing ahead of the visit on Waterford Vikings to St. Mary’s Hall this coming Thursday.

TEMPLEOGUE: James Janas, John Murphy, Tom Sinnott, Kareem Matonmi, Wilfred Omorusi, Liam Egan, Vlad Povstian, Michael O’Connor, Joshua Fazande, Henry Kehoe.

Top Scorers: Wilfred Omorusi (20), Tom Sinnott (14), Vlad Povstian (11).

PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Senan O’Brien, Jayden Umeh, Echezona Onuorah, Brayan DeSouza, Love Omoijade, Ciaran Daly, Desmond Ogedegbe.

Top Scorers: Desmond Ogedegbe (39), Brayan DeSouza (12), Jayden Umeh (11), Love Omoijade (10).