Wallace sees squad cohesiveness as key in Portlaoise surmounting high-flying Eagles
Mike Wallace played a significant role in Friday night's away win over Limerick Sport Eagles with a game-high 29 points, along with six assists Photo: David Maher
Limerick Sport Eagles 74
ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers 88
A HUGE fourth quarter performance saw ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers chalk up another impressive road win when they made the trip to UL Arena to take on Limerick Sport Eagles on Friday night, extending their unbeaten start in this season’s Men’s National League Division One to six games.
Mike Wallace played a significant role in that victory with a game-high 29 points, along with six assists, and the American point guard insists this superb run is a result of the cohesiveness that exists within the squad.
Certainly given the huge changes the panel underwent throughout the summer following a season in which they reached both the National League and Cup finals, head coach, Jack Scully has done a remarkable job in ensuring Portlaoise remain a competitive force in Division One.
Victory over a Limerick side, who had won four their opening five games in the campaign, only served to underscore the potential of this Panthers team, for whom another of their new arrivals, Rich Ashu carded 19 points and 13 rebounds, with Xabi Arriaga weighing in with a further 22 on the scoreboard.
That helped counter Limerick’s big hitters, Ryan Leonard (24 points), Alexander Carlisle (14) and Tobias Christensen (10), as Portlaoise outgunned their hosts by 17 points in the fourth to secure a big win ahead of their re-match with Limerick in the National Cup in St. Mary’s Hall this coming Saturday.
“Going into that game, we knew it was going to be tough, especially knowing that we have them again next weekend for the cup,” Wallace told the .
“It was close, but having that experience was big, and not just the pros, but all the Irish guys who’ve been with Portlaoise Panthers’ National League team for quite some time. They all know what to expect when they have a defensive assignment or if they have a specific role.
“The likes of me and Xabi have been in National League for quite some time and Rich has plenty of experience playing basketball at a high level.
“I think we’re all just on the same page, doing our assignments, playing our roles. Once everyone does that, and we all win our match-ups, as a collective whole, we're going to come out on top,” he said.
It was Limerick, however, who were quickest out of the traps on Friday, carding the opening five points, with Christensen picking up a deuce before Darragh Horkan landed a treble.
And they continued on to push that lead out to 13 points by the midway point in the first quarter, Leonard playing a major part in that early surge as he drained two shots off the three-point line after having also got in down the lane.
Portlaoise needed a response and they served up exactly that with a 10-point run that included free throws and scores from the field by Ashu, along with a superb three from Arriaga.
That hauled them back to within three of their hosts, and they continue on to overtake when Wallace worked his way in for a couple of buckets.
A three from Danny Mooney with 34 seconds remaining in that opening period helped ensure Limerick, at least, stayed on level terms at 22 points apiece heading into the second.
It remained a real tug-of-war over the next two quarters, Panthers producing a nine-point run that propelled them four in front with just over three minutes to go to the half-time break.
But Limerick accounted for the closing six points of the half through Leonard and Carlisle to leave them with a narrow 43-41 advantage at the interval.
The tie swung back in favour of the visitors early in the third when Davin McEvoy, Arriaga and Wallace all drained threes to help propel their team six points in front.
But Limerick picked up the next 11, including timely trebles from Daniel Shahab and Carlisle that opened back up a five-point cushion for the home side.
And they managed to remain out in front up until two-and-a-half minutes into the fourth quarter when another three from Wallace levelled the game up at 67 apiece.
Portlaoise never looked back from there, picking up a further six unanswered points before a 13-point run, that included big scores from downtown by Dylan Dunne and Arriaga, copper-fastened this win for the visitors.
Delighted with the victory, Portlaoise head coach, Jack Scully told the : “That was an absolutely huge one. It’s a tough place to go, but we’re 6 and 0 now, with four of those games being away from home, which is really pleasing.
“It was a really tough game against Limerick, but, again, I felt our experience down the stretch really counted.
“Dylan Dunne, Xabi Arriaga and Mike Wallace had some huge moments down the stretch and we’re now looking forward to next weekend’s cup game.
“We’re not going to get complacent based on this result, because we know they’ll come with everything to try and get over the line,” he warned.
LIMERICK SPORT EAGLES: Sean Morrissey, Daniel Shahab, Kirill Yakovlev, Danny Mooney, Ryan Leonard, Colm Hackett, Darragh Horkan, Ronan Cregan, Alexander Carlisle, Tobias Christensen.
Top Scorers: Ryan Leonard (24), Alexander Carlisle (14), Tobias Christensen (10).
ND AUDIT PORTLAOISE PANTHERS: Dylan Dunne, Mike Wallace, Kyle Burke, Trevor Swayne, Davin McEvoy, Rich Ashu, Xabi Arriaga.
Top Scorers: Michael Wallace (29), Xabi Arriaga (22), Rich Ashu (19).
Portlaoise Panthers’ head coach, Jack Scully is looking forward to next weekend’s National Cup game in St Mary’s Hall against Limerick Sport Eagles after getting the better of the same opposition in their Men’s Division 1 encounter on Friday
