St Vincent's beat Ballincollig 86-85 through free throws from William Thomas inside the final minute to give the Dublin side their seventh win of the season and the Cork side’s first loss in 14 games in the Domino's Men's Super League.
Joshua Reynolds led the way in his debut for Vincent’s with 23 points on an efficient shooting performance. Only Latrell Jossell for Ballincollig scored more, dropping a 29-point performance that was just short enough of what was needed for the win as Vincent’s edged out the victory in the final seconds of the game.
Vincent’s are now in sixth place in the table and level with Tralee and UCD Marian at 7-6. For Ballincollig, they fall to 10-3 and are just behind Belfast Star, who moved back to top after their victory on Saturday.
Belfast Star’s win managed to affect both sides of the table as they defeated Energywise Ireland Neptune 95-79 through the duo of Shane Bell and Irish international Rapolas Buivydas, who scored 22 each for Belfast.
Star held their biggest lead midway through the third with them reaching a 24-point gap. The win is their second in a row after losing two straight before that. The loss for Neptune sees them fall to the bottom of the Super League table with a 3-10 record after they managed to overtake fellow Cork side UCC Demons a few weeks ago.
UCC Demons managed to get their first victory in three games after they defeated Flexachem KCYMS 88-74 in Killorglin.
James Hannigan and Daryl Cuff stole the show for Demons, who combined for 38 points in the win. Jeffery Okeke had a game-high 27 points for Killorglin, who tried to keep the game as competitive as possible with the lead changing hands on eight separate occasions.
The loss sees Killorglin slip further away from the play-off places after an eighth defeat of the season and leaves them sitting in tenth. For Demon’s they overtake Neptune and out of the bottom of the table.
Limerick Celtics took a big step towards the play-off spots with a 114-103 victory over EJ Sligo All-Stars in Limerick.
A 39-point first quarter put Celtics well on their way to a fifth win of the season behind the league leader in scoring in AJ Williams. Williams had 32 points along with 12 assists with him hitting four of his own threes.
Celtics had a further five players in double digits, with Finn Hughes scoring 18, newest acquisition Tony Hauser getting 18 and then Ruairi Cronin, Abdul Wurie and Philip Kearney also in double digits. John Carroll managed to score 31 for Sligo along with 25 for RJ Etyle-Rock.
But Celtics offence managed to find a new level at the right time as the final stretch for a play-off push approaches. Celtics now sit in eighth alone with a record of 5-8. Sligo are now a game behind at 4-9 as they sit in ninth position in the table.
Garvey’s Tralee Warriors managed to edge UCD Marian with late scores inside the final 30 seconds to take the lead and win the game 85-83 in UCD.
A finish from Jordan Perkins along with an Irshaad Hunte free throw secure the victory for Tralee as both players combined for 48 points. The action in UCD was some of the most dramatic of the weekend as the lead changed hands on 20 different occasions.
The win for Tralee has them at 7-5 and closing in on the chasing pack for a home play-off as they are just under a game away from both St. Vincent’s and Marian in the table. The loss has Marian at 7-6 but still in fifth position for now.
Killester overcame Griffith College Éanna 82-76 in a battle of third against fourth in Colaiste Éanna.
Seventeen lead changes across the four quarters of action showed the intensity both sides brought to the game as the race for the play-offs heat up.
Killester had four players scoring in double digits along with 14 rebounds from pro Baptiste Chazelas putting them on their way to a difference-making 54 boards compared to Éanna’s 39.
Éanna managed to reduce the lead to three points with ten seconds on the clock, but Robert Braswell managed to hit all of his free throws to see out the win for Killester. The win puts Killester at 9-4 for the season and leaves Éanna at 8-5 in third and fourth respectively.
