Basketball Ireland review

Killester secured their second win over UL in the space of a week, while Moycullen's recent revival continued at home to HOOPS in the latest round of Nivea For Men's SuperLeague fixtures.

On Sunday, Neptune maintained their fine run away to UCD/Marian, while UCC Demons inflicted their second defeat on Belfast Star in a week.

Killester ended UL Eagles' unbeaten run on Saturday evening courtesy of a 93-83 success in the UL Sports Arena.

The Dubliners ended Eagles' cup hopes last weekend and followed it up with another impressive win, largely inspired by a fine fourth quarter in which Mark Keenan's side outscored their opponents 31-19.

Some of the highlights in this quarter included two three pointers from Michael Goj, a player still not fully recovered from a back injury.

'It was a great result particularly with the likes of Paddy Kelly missing through injury,' said Goj. 'We played great defence and managed to restrict Scott Kinevane, which is one of the main reasons we got the points.

'It was a very tight game but we managed to hold our nerve in the final quarter,' he added. 'They missed a few big shots at crucial stages, while we were converting most of ours.

'It's an important win in terms of making up for the disappointment of losing both the league and cup last season. We are determined to put that record straight this season.'

Stuart Robbins produced another impressive display of scoring with 36 points but it was unable to prevent Mark Keenan's side from their seventh win of the season in the league.

Moycullen are beginning to dream of the play-offs after securing their third win in a row at home to HOOPS by virtue of a 72-64 success.

The Westeners had their National Cup hopes ended by HOOPS at the first round stage but they made no mistake this time around at the novel Leitir Mor venue in Connemara.

It was the visitor's who started the brighter, opening up a 10-0 lead at the start of the quarter but the home side were to gain control midway through the final quarter.

Southern Conference Player of the Month for November Cian Nihill was to the fore with 19 points and he believes the side can make a push for the play-offs.

'I know we were the new team at the start of the season but we were going into the league with the intention of making a serious play for the play-offs,' said Nihill. 'We are getting used to playing at this level and it was our defensive pressure which was the main reason we got the points against HOOPS.

'We made it difficult for HOOPS to get the ball to Carlton Aaron (a player averaging 27 points this season)," he added. "We were confident we could get a result at half time despite trailing and we really grabbed control with about five minutes left in the game.'

Neptune made it five successive wins in the league with a hard fought 88-74 win away to UCD/Marian.

UCD had too much ground to make up after the break, trailing 53-36 and were unable to stop the phenomenal scoring of Juwann James, who struck 48 points.

'Juwann (James) was spectacular,' said Neptune Head Coach Pat Price. 'He had 48 points, 24 rebounds and four steals which shows how good he was at both ends of the court.

'We are delighted with six wins (five in the league and one in the cup) at this stage of the year,' he added. 'The squad is a close knit unit and we are pleased with our progress ahead of a what is going to be a very difficult January.'

UCC Demons have joined UL on 22 points at the top of the Southern Conference after an 83-70 win over Belfast Star.

'It was a tough game, Star did a very good job of containing Joshua Johnson in the first half,' said Star Head Coach Luke D'Alessio. 'We were tremendous after the break and once again played very well in the third quarter.

'It was a hugely important game and sets up a real top of the table clash against UL next weekend,' he added. 'Star made a few adjustments from our cup game last weekend and really made it difficult for us.'

Meanwhile, in the IrishSport.TV Women's SuperLeague, DCU Mercy ended UL's unbeaten record with an excellent display on Sunday.

On Saturday, Tolka Rovers ended their search for a win away to Bausch & Lomb Wildcats, while Team Montenotte Hotel Cork and Meteors proved too strong for Killester and Sligo All Stars respectively.

DCU Mercy put a halt to UL's unbeaten run in the league with a 74-59 success at the DCU Sports Complex.

The Dubliners lead by three at the break but controlled the third with Ann Marie Healy and Lisa Palmer impressing.

'We played very good defence against a very good side in UL,' said DCU Head Coach Mark Ingle. 'We meet them again in the National Cup semi final and it will be a completely different ball game.

'Lisa Palmer and Ann Marie Healy were excellent for us,' he added. 'Shauna O'Connor also did extremely well but I am very pleased to get over a side like UL at this stage of the season.'

Team Montenotte Hotel Cork maintained their perfect start to the season with an impressive 73-40 win at home to Killester.

It was the experienced duo of Niamh Dwyer and Marie Breen who did the damage, combining to score 38 points of their teams winning total.

'We are very conscious we have some big games coming up with UL next on the list so we needed a performance like that,' said Montenotte Head Coach Mark Scannell.

'Killester have had a bright season and gave UL two very tough games so we are pleased with keeping them under 50 points.

'Niamh (Dwyer) and Marie (Breen) really showed their experience and defensively we were excellent,' he added.