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| 29 Mar 2008 |
Neptune out of Superleague playoffs |
Abrakebabra Tralee 86 - 78 Neptune
Game date: 3/29/2008 |
There was a lot of optimism around the Stadium this week, brought on by our strong finish to the season and the immense win over DCU Saints last week. The feeling was that we were hitting form at just the right time and there was a real chance we could win it all. Unfortunately that optimism evaporated in six and a half scoreless second quarter minutes this afternoon. We opened brightly enough, leading by 4 - 14 after just under 4 minutes. Tralee for their part looked in trouble. With point guard Paris Katsimpas in street clothes on the bench their offense had zero rhythm. However, the three point barrage began with two from Donaghy that got them back level. Neptune struggled to create much and the quarter ended with Tralee up a pair, 22 - 20.
In the second our offense dried up completely as Tralee rained in three after three in a simply awesome display of shooting. Even when we manufactured good looks at the basket everything rimmed out. Free throws clanked as the shooting strokes tightened up. Donaghy knocked down another three, Chris Jordan had a couple of threes and when Pete Strobl hit two more threes on the trot Tralee were up 42 - 22 with just over 4 minutes left in the quarter. Kyle Myrick finally got a hold of our game to steady the ship and we managed to manufacture enough buckets to get back to 48 - 34 at half time.
The second half mostly consisted of Neptune trying to up the pace of the game and Tralee desperately trying to slow it down. With coach Bernson unwilling to use much of his bench 6 players played almost the entire game and they tired visibly in the second half. Donaghy had 20 in the first half, but just 4 in the second, all free throws. Kyle Myrick gave Jordan fits with pressure on the ball and Donaghy had to be moved to point guard as they did their best to walk the ball up the floor.
Neptune cut the lead gradually, getting it back to 6 a few times as Kieran O'Brien and Matt Gorman started to get on the scoresheet more regularly and Kyle scored with some tough floaters in the lane. Tralee hung on gamely though and were extremely strong on the defensive boards. Neptune usually cause all sorts of problems for the opposition with Matt and Kieran hitting the offensive glass, but we were limited to just 6 all game.
Through the fourth the game hinged simply on the fact that Tralee were able to knock down more shots. Their offensive rhythm hadn't improved any bit all through the game. When Neptune scored it tended to be because Kyle moved the ball where it needed to go for soft looks. When Tralee scored it was mostly one on one stuff. They are very good though at the one on one stuff. Jordan in particular is a superb shot creator with the ball in his hands.
As Tralee tired even further Neptune pulled it back to a three point game with over a minute on the clock. However, that was as close as we would get. Several opportunities were missed to cut the difference to one and Tralee eventually pushed out the gap to five with less than 20 seconds remaining. Another lay-up and a free throw meant that the final gap was 8, 86 - 78.
During the game there were plenty of times when it could have turned if this or that had happened, but the simple fact is we played sufficient defense to hold Tralee 5 points below their scoring average. We just did not shoot the ball well and 78 points was never going to be enough to get past a crafty side like Tralee. |
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Pat Price announced as new Head Coach
Each One Teach One coaching seminar, July 15th - 18th
Photo's from France trip in new Gallery section
Under 14 Clubs All Ireland
Trophé Val d'Europe Team
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