Scully delights in seeing Panthers power past Ulster and fuel play-off hopes
Portlaoise Panthers' head coach, Jack Scully could not have been prouder of his side's response to last week's loss by overcoming Ulster University on Saturday Photo: David Maher
Basketball Ireland Domino’s Men’s Division One
Ulster University 72
ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers 102
HEAD coach, Jack Scully was pleased with the response his ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers team summoned up after the previous weekend’s heavy defeat at the hands of Titans, as they cut loose in the second half of Saturday’s Domino’s Men’s Division One clash with Ulster University in UUJ to secure the win.
Only a mere two points separated the sides after the opening minute of the third quarter, but Portlaoise hit the afterburners, ending that penultimate period with a huge 19-point advantage which they increased to 30 by the full-time buzzer.
There was a double-double of 26 points and 11 rebounds for Amiri Darrell Stewart by the close of proceedings, while Davin McEvoy and Kevin Donohoe each weighed in with a further 19 points apiece for the visitors.
Prince Ebwea did prove extremely difficult to contain, the Ulster shooting guard amassing a game-high 32 points, but Panthers still had more than enough fire power in their ranks to comfortably prevail, with no less than five of their players ending the tie in double digits.
That win over an Ulster side, themselves, in the thick of battle for a play-off spot in the North Conference, saw the Laois side overtake Maigh Cuilinn into fifth place in the South, and with two games in hand over Titans just above, they will be hoping to break back into the top four by season’s end.
“It was a huge win against Ulster,” Portlaoise boss, Scully told the .
“At the moment it’s all still in our control, so if we win all our remaining games, we’re guaranteed a play-off. We don’t have to rely on anyone else’s results at the moment, which is good.
“This was a very big win. It just kicks us on for another week and keeps us in the fight, so I’m delighted with that,” he said.
Ulster led by four points midway through the opening quarter, Ebwea quickly making his presence felt with three buckets, while Max Postiglione, Darragh Ferguson and Shane O’Connor also delivered in the paint.
But Portlaoise took hold of this tie by way of a 13-point run that was ignited by a treble from Dylan Dunne and also featured buckets off the three-point line by Donohoe and Stewart.
That purple patch served to propel the visitors nine points clear, although Ulster managed to reduce their arrears to five (24-19) by the end of that opening quarter, as Ebwea got in for buckets either side of a triple by Ferguson.
The hosts remained very much on the heels of their opponents right throughout the second quarter, closing to within two just a minute out from the half-time recess, as Postiglione, Sean O’Donoghue and Tom Kearney drained big attempts from beyond the arc.
Still, Portlaoise, bolstered by a further nine points apiece from McEvoy and Donohoe, demonstrated a steeliness that kept them in the driving seat, Scully’s side taking a four-point lead (50-46) into the break.
And while a Postiglione deuce again cut the gap to two early in the third, Portlaoise responded with the next seven points, starting with a sublime triple from Dylan Dunne.
Ebwea got Ulster moving again with a strike down the lane, but the hosts found themselves in real trouble when Panthers shut them out for the next three-and-a-half minutes, in which time, they chalked up a further 11 points to enlarge the deficit to 18.
Stewart kicked off that telling run with a deuce that also drew a foul and, while he did miss the accompanying free throw, he gathered the resulting rebound and put it back.
That was followed by another Dunne triple and a bucket from McEvoy as Portlaoise took control, and kept their foot very much on the pedal right to the end.
A score by Jayden Umeh helped leave them 19 clear (74-55) heading in to the fourth, at the start of which McEvoy delivered again on the inside before Ebwea cancelled out that score.
But Ulster were unable to recoup any lost ground and, in fact, lost even more as Portlaoise served up another seven unanswered points, compliments of Trevor Swayne, Xabi Arriaga and Stewart.
And they maintained that intensity right to the finish, Justice Iheme’s treble being followed with a single from the free-throw line by Dunne and two buckets by McEvoy over the closing two minutes of play.
ULSTER UNIVERSITY: Sean O’Donoghue, Max Postiglione, Ben Hesnan, Odhran Hegarty, Prince Ebwea, Shane O’Connor, Darragh Ferguson, Ryan McGonnell, Ryan Kingi, Tom Kearney, Shariff Oke.
Top Scorers: Prince Ebwea (32), Max Postiglione (13), Darragh Ferguson (10).
ND AUDIT PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Dylan Dunne, Amiri Darrell Stewart, Jayden Umeh, Trevor Swayne, Davin McEvoy, Kevin Donohoe, Xabi Arriaga, Love Omoijade, Justice Iheme.
Top Scorers: Amiri Darrell Stewart (26), Davin McEvoy (19), Kevin Donohoe (19), Xabi Arriaga (13), Dylan Dunne (10).
