Cavaliers fall short in two tight basketball battles
Castlerea Cavaliers came out on the wrong side of two very close finishes in their early season games.
A young, well-drilled Merry Monk side took their chance when it presented itself, taking advantage of Cavaliers fatigue in the fourth quarter and coming away with a well-earned win on the road.
Castlerea looked all set to win their first fixture of the season with debutant, Adam Gavigan displaying his impressive athleticism and skill with 13 points. Joseph Henry added 15 with a combination of inside and outside finishes. Thomas Callaghan led the Cavs with 33 on the back of good three-point shooting.
Ronan O’Malley was the focal point for Ballina. He scored or kicked to his shooters from the high post, finishing with 19. The outside threats, Mark Cunningham and Rory Upton, punished the Cavs all game. They finished with 22 and 12 respectively.
Despite a brave comeback effort, Castlerea dropped their second game of the season as well. After falling behind 18-2 early on, the Cavs came all the way back to take the lead at 49-48 early in the second half.
Joe Fleming and Seán McDermott drove the Castlerea challenge. Fleming amassed 19 points, a combination of typically impressive post work and some three-point shooting. McDermott had 8, his major contributions came on the defensive end, lifting his team with important steals and perimeter coverage.
Adam Gavigan continued his early season from, finishing with 15, while Thomas Callaghan added 13 off the bench.
Sligo’s size proved to be the difference. They were able to dominate the rebounding battle in the fourth quarter, cleaning up their own misses on a few occasions. Former St. Nathy’s guard, Martin Mulligan, ran the Sligo offence from point guard while ex-National League player, Philip Hamilton, led the away team with 18 points.
Castlerea face a very strong Mayo Meteors side at home on Tuesday, December 12th. Having finished second in last year’s league, Meteors have added recent Super League player and Irish international, Paul Freeman, to their ranks. The Cavs will cherish the challenge and look forward to trying to get their first win of the season.
