SETU Carlow 99
Scott’s Lakers St Paul’s 87
Enda Walshe reports
While the scoreline shows a win for SETU Carlow, it certainly doesn’t tell the full story of this national league game played in the Barrow Centre.
A 12-point win may suggest the home side were always in control of the scoreboard but it belies the fact that Scott’s Lakers St Paul’s played with a competitive spirit, structure and purpose that could have brought them more.
Trailing by 11at half-time, 61-50, they thundered into the game towards the end of the third and start of the fourth quarter. Keeping abreast with the home side at 78-78, the Lakers may point to a few debatable calls which went against them and the momentum of the game would slide the other way.
They had worked so hard to get themselves into that position, those decisions would have stung but, having said all that, coach Brian Clarke will be able to mine plenty of positives when they drill down into this opening round performance. Terion Moss had 25 points, 11 rebounds and half a dozen assists.
Braden Bell pulled down eight boards and hit 28 points. Jack O’Sullivan struck for 13 points, Paul Clarke led from the front while Jamie O’Sullivan was bright as a button.
Ronan Collins will have benefited from his first outing for some time while Mark Sheehan and Eoin O’Carroll added to their reputations. Young Chris Healy made his national league debut while Oisin Spring again saw court time.
SETU Carlow had a summer reboot and paraded their three new signings. Lawrence Puff Summers got them off the mark but his basket was sandwiched between seven points from Jamie O’Sullivan.
Carlow’s American signing Michael Wallace introduced himself to the league with an impressive opening and alongside Summers he helped Carlow into a 19-12 lead. Terion Moss was starting to fire up for the Lakers and the introduction of Eoin O’Carroll and a Braden Bell three closed the gap to four, 23-19.
The home side, through another new acquisition Xavier Arriaga and Gary Morrissey, drove on further but Moss and Jack O’Sullivan kept the Lakers in the conversation at 33-26.
Moss and Bell answered baskets from Rolands Vaikuls and Kevin Donohue, Paul Clarke was prominent at this juncture and while Wallace was hurting the Lakers Moss, Bell and Jack O’Sullivan kept chipping away, leaving the half-time deficit at 61-50.
The third quarter was following a similar pattern, Carlow leading 73-63 in a free flowing contest, but the Lakers hit the accelerator to thunder into the contest. Clarke, Bell, Jack O’Sullivan and Moss cut the gap to three, 75 to 72, before the first debatable call went against the Lakers.
The officials ruled Rolands Vaikuls basket had beat the buzzer and that he had been fouled in the process of making it. A three-point play made it a six point third quarter deficit, 78-72.
Almost riled by the setback, Paul Clarke and Bell drew the Lakers level early in the fourth but Arriaga, Summers, Wallace and Summers pushed Carlow ahead, right in the midst of some baffling refereeing.
Ronan Collins and Moss tried to get the Lakers back into it but the dye had been cast and Carlow closed out the game despite the best efforts of Jack O’Sullivan.
It was definitely a case of what could have been for the Lakers but definitely best to embrace the positives, keep the head down and look forward to two home games in the coming weeks.
Braden Bell top scored for the Lakers with 28, Moss had 25, Jack O’Sullivan 13, Paul Clarke and Jamie O’Sullivan had seven each, Eoin Carroll six and Ronan Collins one.
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