Monks win again

BALLINA’S MVP Darragh McGarrity accepted his MVP award after last weekend’s game from Kevin Gaughan of Gaughan Scaffolding

Monks bring bank holiday cheer

Merry Monk    98
Ballina
St Paul’s         94
Killarney

MERRY Monk Ballina got the perfect tonic ahead of next month’s cup match in Killarney when they got the better of St Paul’s at the Ballina Sports and Leisure Complex on Saturday night.
The fact that the home side were without the injured Ronan McGarrity, and that they trailed at the end of the first (18-30) and second quarters (53-44) made the ultimate victory all the sweeter. St Paul’s will be hoping for revenge when Merry Monk come south on November 18 for the first round of the National Cup.
The Kerrymen were not helped by indiscipline both on and off the court, most crucially when coach Cormac O’Donoghue was penalised for kicking the bench early in the fourth quarter. A number of calls had gone against the visitors in a game which saw Ballina lose their American, Jimmy Boston, on five fouls and both the Killarney Americans fouled out in that final quarter.
The Kerry coach did have a point, a ball which clearly went off Paul Freeman, but the decision went to Ballina and, at that stage – with the game poised at 78-76 in favour of the visitors – every possession was vital.  Pete Strobl, whose three-pointer was just the start Ballina needed in the fourth quarter, tied the game from the free-throw line at 78 apiece.
It was 80-all after Shane O’Meara and Jacob Mitchell traded baskets but over the next five minutes Ballina went 11 clear, 91-80. It started with a Puff Summers steal and the quick feed from MVP Darragh McGarrity sent Summers on his way to the basket. Strobl then checked in with a basket, Boston added another, and Strobl had further success at the free-throw line, putting Killarney in all kinds of trouble.
With the visitors on team fouls, all Ballina had to do was stay cool. But there was little between the teams, and Summers kept topping up Ballina’s lead from the free-throw line. The same player managed a magnificent rebound, soaring above the heads of players far taller than himself to claim possession.
A couple of careless turnovers meant Killarney weren’t out of contention yet, and the gap was down to two scores as the clock ticked down. However, team fouls were costing Killarney and Summers proved comfortable at the free-throw line.
It was all a long way from the early stages of the match, as Ballina took a hammering under the boards in the first quarter. Jimmy Boston and Paul Freeman had something of an impact in the second quarter but Merry Monk faced into the second half with a lot of work still to do.
Thankfully, the westerners upped their game on the resumption and tightened things up in defence. At the other end of the court, Summers and Strobl landed three-pointers, and there was more of the same to come in the action-packed final quarter.