Champions Maree finish National Men’s Division 1 campaign in style

Maree 108

 Maree finished their National League campaign on Saturday night in Dublin, when they put in an awesome display to beat hapless hosts Tolka Rovers by a whopping 62 points.

Liam Conroy was the game’s high scorer with 27 points. Maree finished the league on 40 points with 13 wins and just one loss, six points clear of Swords Thunder who held on to second place despite a 79-77 loss to Titans on Sunday in Cappagh Sports Centre. Cup-winners Titans finished in fourth spot on 29 points, just a point behind St Mary’s Castleisland.

Basketball Ireland has introduced a new end-of-season competition, the Champions’ Trophy, pitting Cup and League winners across the Premier and National Leagues against each other. This weekend, Maree host Dublin’s DCU Saints while Titans host Neptune of Cork. The winners move on to play Killester and Blue Demons respectively the following weekend.

Maree hit 32 points against Tolka in a powerful first-quarter display, fast-breaking with pace and in half-court offense against Rovers’ zone, moving the ball beautifully, to set up good outside shots. Meanwhile, their own man-to-man defense was virtually impenetrable; at one stage the score was 26-1.

Conroy hit 11 in that opening period, while Colm O’Hagan was good for 8 and Matt Hornbuckle 7. It was more of the same in the second quarter when Maree’s lead stretched further, with Pádraig Burke and Conroy notching 7 and Cathal Finn 6. At the half, the Maree lead was 59-16.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.