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| 16 Nov 2008 |
Under 20's fall just short in Cup |
This was a tight, hard fought contest and Swords will have been delighted to come out on top. Neither team led by more than 7 until the last few seconds, and there was never more than 2 in it at the end of any of the first 3 periods. In the end though it was superior finishing from Swords made the difference and they came out with a 58 - 67 victory.
The game open with both teams setting out their stall to play tough defense and not give away anything easily. It took a few minutes for either team to get past 2 points, but gradually a few players started to find their range. Darren Cronin was extremely active for Neptune, scoring 6 of Neptune's 12 in the first. Damien Dunne equalled that for Swords, getting 6 of his side's 14.
Swords started better in the second quarter, with David Heagerty and Donal Monaghan pushing their side ahead 19 - 12. Neptune edged back slowly during the quarter, with Aidan King chipping in 7. Eanna Rutherford started to really affect the game, scoring 6 of Swords last 8 with high-arcing floaters, the last one a fine score off the glass as time expired to put Swords up 27 - 29 at the break.
Swords scored first after the break, but Ger Kelleher, who had been doing excellent work trapping and pressuring the ball in the press, had his work rewarded with a couple of forced turnovers, and David Walsh buried a pair of three pointers to put Neptune up 2. Kelleher also started to get a couple of favourable bounces when finishing his drives, and he scored Neptune's next 6 to push the home side ahead by 6 points. Swords came back strong though, and late scores from David Heagerty and another late one from Eanna Rutherford tied it up 42 - 42 at the end of the third.
In the fourth Aidan King did his best to keep Neptune in it. He had 10 in the quarter, including 3 fo 4 from beyond the arc, ending with a game high 21, but it wasn't enough as Swords accuracy from midrange improved. Donal Monaghan had 9 inside, but it was a balanced attack that helped Swords into a 5 point lead with just under 2 minutes to play. From there Swords were able to close it out with solid defense and high-percentage free throw shooting, as their last 6 came from the line when Neptune were forced to foul.
Overall a highly enjoyable cup game, with Neptune left to rue a few missed chances from in around the basket and some very poor free throw shooting. Neptune attempted 31 free throws in the game but converted just 10 of them. Swords on the other hand at least managed to get above 50% from the free throw line, making 12 of 21. |
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