“The game was there for the taking, but we just blew it”

By Stephen Leonard

AFTER some 13 games unbeaten in this season’s Men’s Super League, Templeogue recorded the first loss of their campaign after they went down 88-82 to third place UCD Marian in the National Basketball Arena on Sunday.

After a disappointing start to the match, during which point they found themselves ten points down, Templeogue managed to halve this deficit by the interval.

And Mark Keenan’s side overtook into a nine-point lead, Baolach Morrison producing a real purple patch between the final two quarters during which he registered three big three-pointers on his way to a 13-point tally.

Michael Bonaparte hit 25 points, but when the influential Jason Killeen was fouled out with just over two minutes remain-ing, UCD capitalised.

Mike Garrow top-scored on 30 points while Dustan Morriera and Conor Meany each hit 14 as Marian fought back to clinch a huge win.

Looking back on his team’s first loss in the league this season, Keenan said “We had a slow start but we managed to pick it up and had a very good second and third quarter.

“We put ourselves in the driving seat, but just couldn’t finish them off. The game was there for the taking, but we just blew it.

“Fair play to UCD. They hung in there, but it was some of our poor decision making that allowed them to take it from us.

“We just didn’t execute in the last two or three minutes. We even had a chance to tie it up in the last 22 seconds. We had the opportunity there, but just didn’t take it.

“It was very disappointing, but we’ve just got to dust ourselves off and not let it affect us. We have Demons in Cork and that will be another tough one,” he stressed.

The loss sees Temple-ogue’s lead over second place Swords Thunder cut to three while UCD are now six off the pacesetters.

Meanwhile Commercial. ie Eanna suffered a heavy 80 to 55 point loss to DCU Saints in the Arena the day before.

Despite Aidan Dunne emerging the game’s top scorer on 26 points and Regimus Dimiciskus chipping in with 14, theRathfarnham side was unable to make any in-roads into the 22-point gap that separated the two sides at the halftime break.