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| 10 Feb 2008 |
Matt Gorman gets 34, but Tralee come out on top |
Neptune 78 - 89 Abrakebabra Tralee
Game date: 2/10/2008 |
Matt Gorman poured in 34 points, but Tralee's foreign contingent proved too much to handle as Hadley, Katsimpas and Jordan combined for 63 points and an 11 point victory. The win was vital for Tralee to stay in front of a streaking UCC Demons in the race for top spot in the Southern Conference and a first round bye in the playoffs.
Despite occasional bursts of points from both sides, this was a relatively low-scoring affair. The first quarter promised much, as Neptune started hot, hitting their first 4 shots. Tralee kept with the pace though, with three of their first five baskets coming from beyond the arc. It was Hadley V Gorman for most of the first quarter. Matt Gorman was dominating inside as well as knocking down long jump shots and totaled 10 points in the quarter, but Hadley matched the 10 points with a pair of threes to go with two lay-ups from aggressive drives to the basket. As would be the pattern for the rest of the game, Hadley got slightly more help on offense from the rest of team and Tralee led 23 - 28 at the end of the quarter.
The scoring disappeared on both sides in the second quarter, as plenty of shots clanged off the rim on both ends. Neither team was playing particularly tough defense, the problem was simply that shots weren't falling. The lead see-sawed between 3 and 7 points, but Tralee finished the half with a three from Jordan and a shot jumper from Hadley to go in with a 36 - 45 advantage.
Neptune came out hot again after the break, but Tralee were absolutely on fire. They opened the third quarter with threes from Donaghy, Katsimpas, Hadley and Katsimpas again to push the lead into double figures. Matt Gorman showed a fabulous array of offensive moves to keep Neptune moving along, totaling another 10 in the quarter from jump shots, a couple of jump hooks and a ferocious 2-handed put back slam. Neptune were moving badly on defense though and got themselves in the penalty early, and Tralee were ruthless from the line, knocking down eight in a row at one stage. Overall Tralee made 18 of 22 free throws, compared to just 5 of 15 for Neptune. Irish star Kieran Donaghy played limited minutes due to foul trouble, but Neptune were unable to take advantage and the third quarter ended with hot shooting Tralee up 15, 61 - 76.
Things tightened up considerably in the final quarter, as Neptune finally managed to lock down the Tralee shooters. Katsimpas opened with another 3, their 11th, and followed with a lay-up, but that would be Tralee's final field goal. Again though Neptune got themselves in the penalty early and Tralee were able to stay in front thanks to exceptional free throw shooting from Hadley and Katsimpas to go with a very solid final quarter on the defensive boards. Neptune, with the front line size of Gorman and O'Brien usually pick up a few scores from offensive rebounds, but were held to just 5 in this game. A three from Kevin Reddy with almost a minute and a half remaining pulled Neptune within 5, but failure to capitalise on two Tralee misses meant the opportunity was gone, and Katsimpas, Hadley and Quirke closed it out from the free throw line inside the final 40 seconds. This was a deserved win for Tralee, who did enough to keep their noses in front and come away with a 68 - 79 win. Hadley finished with 28 and Katsimpas had an extremely efficient 19 points, making 4 of 5 three pointers and 3 of 4 free throws. Keiran O'Brien managed 15 for the home side, but no one else was in double figures. |
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