Blue Demons Intermediate Team has won the National Cup Final on 28-Jan-2017 against UCD Marian in an epic game where our lads dug dip to claim the title on a score line of 78-72. The team made the club proud. Congratulations to all the players and coaches Troy O’Mahony & Carlton Cuff.
Report From Basketball Ireland
A TIGHT and competitive Men’s NICC final saw Blue Demons hold firm to finally take the spoils after a thrilling fourth quarter finish that saw the sides neck-in-neck right up to the final buzzer.
Indeed, it was a close and tight game throughout, and quarter one saw UCD Marian in the lead, with Mark Ryan netting 14 points in style early on and Shane Egan adding to their tally with 10 well-taken points in a fast-paced and lively quarter. Demons weren’t too far behind though, with a big spread of scoring and good rebounding from Luke O’Mahony seeing it end 21-27 to UCD at the end of the first.
The second quarter was just as close, with Shane McCarthy and Niall O’Reilly proving crucial for Blue Demons, keeping UCD to under 10 points for the quarter to drive into the lead, with Shane Coughlan also adding points. Good defence by Demons saw them take the lead and went on to have the advantage 44-36 at half time
A stronger third quarter display from UCD brought them right back into it, with Shane Egan and Ryan proving crucial at both ends of the court, while Luke O’Mahony, Shane Coughlan and Shane McCarthy were core for Blue Demons to help to maintain their lead in the face of a good UCD hustle, to see just six in it going into the last, 62-56 in favour of Demons.
A fantastic fourth quarter had fans on the edge of their seats as just five point separated the sides for most of the quarter. UCD tried to close the gap on numerous occasions with Shane Egan and Mark Ryan working hard to keep the scores coming in and Demons out but Coughlan, O’Reilly, McCarthy and Ryan Murphy proved just too much.
BLUE DEMONS: Ryan Murphy (16), Shane McCarthy (14), Shane Coughlan (16), Robert McGowan, Dylan Brickley, Darren O Leary, Dylan Olden, Daniel Thompson, Niall O’Reilly (15), Luke O’Mahony (14), Cian Clernon, Stuart Rodgers, Shane O’Connell, Kyle O’Mahony, Craig Duggan (2).
UCD MARIAN: John Young, Aran Lee (10), Liam Purcell, Hugh Mitchell, Odhran Eastwood (6)*, Jack Nolan (10)*, Andy Galpo, Eoin Noctor, Shane Egan (20)*, Martin Mulligan, Mark Ryan (24), Breandan O’Rian*.
MVP: Shane Coughlan (Blue Demons)