Marrey answers Monks prayers with late winner
Brian Donoghue finds the basket for Team Merry Monk
Basketball Ireland National U20 League
Team Merry Monk 77
Ballincollig 75
Daragh Coyle at Ballina Leisure Centre
Down by two points in the final moments of the game, Team Merry Monk will be delighted to have clawed their way back in front on Sunday afternoon to beat an extremely talented Ballincollig side.
The Ballina boys had started the better of the two teams but their visitors fought their way back to control much of the third quarter. With the game hanging in the balance, either side could have won it but Ballina stretched ahead with a final shot from David Marrey.
Merry Monk jumped out to a 5-2 lead with scores from Marrey and Brian Donohoe and while Eoghan Carew drew an and-one to tie the sides at 0-5 apiece, the hosts went on to lead 16-7 as they looked far sharper than their Cork rivals during the opening quarter, powered by the work of Donohoe and Theo Daly, the latter bagging himself his first three in that stretch.
Ballincollig would end the quarter on a 9-4 run with a three from Billy Bell helping matters, and Merry Monk’s lead had been cut back to four heading into the second period.
Donohoe, Mark Cunningham and Connor Burke would show their excellent defensive side in this second quarter racking up steals. Donohoe also picked up six points as well, some nice work on the inside coupled with two free throws. But all in all it was a nip-and-tuck quarter with both sides attacking the rim. The home side saw their efficiency dry up however, and their opponents took advantage.
Noah White was a prominent player for the Cork visitors and he ended the quarter having added 12 points to his tally, including a buzzer beater layup on the fastbreak to edge Ballincollig ahead by one point, 31-32. The third quarter reflected the close nature of the game, the away team jumping out with the first three scores from play, including four points from Favour Williams and a mid-range jump-shot from White.
Ballina led by six points midway through the quarter, as Cunningham started to become more aggressive with his shots and another big three arrived from Theo Daly to see the scoreboard read 51-45 in favour of the home side.
Charlie Lester and Bell dropped bombs from three-point range to turn it around for Ballincollig and while there was a pair of Cunningham free-throws for the Ballina outfit, by the end of the third quarter it had become a four-point game in favour of Ballincollig, 55-59.
It was a fast start to the final 10 minutes from Merry Monk. Brian Donohue’s layup off a loose ball paired with another Daly three helped to reclaim the lead early on for the hosts but the athletic Adam Kiwanuka hit a three and William’s finished at the rim to seize momentum back, although the sides would trade the lead consistently – five times alone in the fourth quarter – with the teams level on an additional three occasions.
Down the stretch, the staunch defending of Merry Monk saw them take control of the fixture at the death. A huge steal from Mark Cunningham led to an easy transition layup late on and a three-point lead for the home side. Despite a massive game-tying three from Noah White, Donohoe’s fine pass to Marrey got the go-ahead score.
Merry Monk defended well on Ballincollig’s last possession and came away with a narrow win in their home opener of the National Under-20 League.
Team Merry Monk: Mark Cunningham (26), Brian Donohoe (19), David Marrey (14), Theo Daly (13), Connor Burke, James O’Boyle (2), Patrick Carr (1), Oisin McCann, Eoin McGovern, Reuben Daly.
Ballincollig: Adam Kiwanuka (7), Charlie Lester (20), Noah White (17), Eoghan Carew (6), Favour Williams (7), Billy Bell (6), Donagh Merritt (6), Liam Abernethy (6).
