“We didn’t handle the pressure well” – McEvilly

“We didn’t handle the pressure well” – McEvilly

By Stephen Leonard

COMMERCIAL.ie Éanna player Ciaran McEvilly believes the team lacked the resolve needed to really challenge UCD Marian when they met in their opening game of the Men’s Premier League Basketball season in Coláiste Eanna on Saturday.

The Rathfarnham side, despite having led by four points at the close of the first quarter, were eventually overrun by their Belfield rivals who won out 66-99 in the end.

Eanna V UCD Marian 04 September 2016

“We were disappointed at how we performed” McEvilly told The Echo. “We didn’t handle the pressure too well and really we threw the game away.
“We knew we were always going to be up against it playing UCD, but we felt we could match them.

“We were leading after the first quarter by four points, but a few periods of madness cost us.

“In the second quarter we conceded 25 points in four minutes and that was game over. We couldn’t come back from that.
“Once they applied the bit of pressure our players couldn’t handle it and I think that was largely down to inexperience” he explained.

Eanna’s powerful Australian Nathaniel Musters emerged as the game’s top scorer on 20 points, while Luke Thompson had only four less.

But with steady scoring from Neil Baynes, James Brophy and Mike Garrow, UCD remained well out of sight after their explosive second quarter.

It is not likely to get any easier for the team in their next match on Saturday which sees them entertain a Swords Thunder side that came through their tough opening day encounter with Pyrobel Killester, winning by five points.

“Swords Thunder have taken in some strong players from America and Europe and they’re probably the strongest team in the league now” insisted McEvilly.

“But hopefully we will have learned a lot from the last game and the pressure will not dictate what we do” he added.

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