Hester’s heroics not enough to see Castlerea CS prevail

The Castlerea CS U-19 boys’ basketball team travelled to Lurgan last week for their national play-offs. They played two games, winning one and losing the other, resulting in their elimination from the All-Ireland Series and consequently bringing a very exciting season to a close.

The first game of the day saw eventual pool winners, Mount Temple from Dublin, complete an easy victory over the hosts, St. Ronan’s College, Lurgan.

In their first game, Castlerea CS edged out St. Ronan’s College 30-36. The home side crashed for offensive rebounds and made it very difficult for Castlerea’s inside players. 

The Roscommon school were without the services of footballers Dara Curran, who produced stellar performances in their previous two games, Seán Vaughan and John Curran.

They needed someone to step up in the scoring department, and it was Kevin Hester — so used to facilitating the offence — who decided that he would take matters into his own hands.

St. Ronan’s played a man-to-man, and that played right into Hester’s hands. His team-mates simply spread the floor, and the elusiveness of the point guard got him by his man time after time.

His finishes inside were just as impressive as his moves to get there. Right hand, left hand, off balance, reverse — no matter the shot, Hester’s finesse and finishing touch saw him amass 24 of Castlerea’s 36 in the game.

When Hester couldn’t find a look, he found the open man. There were three-pointers from Joseph Daire and Ross Flynn, as well as an important clutch finish at the basket for Jamie Dowd.

Dylan Keane and Joseph Botton looked after the bulk of the dirty work in defence, crucially limiting the Lurgan school to 30 as Castlerea struggled to find offensive rhythm outside of the phenomenal Hester.

Having made light work of St. Ronan’s and then seeing Castlerea only just prevail, Mount Temple carried all the swagger of a team that were going to cruise home in the final game of the day.

It looked like it would be the case early as their star point guard, Tom Byrne, split open the CCS defence with drives, to find his big guys with some gorgeous, delicate passes for easy finishes. Byrne scored six for himself and two three-pointers for their shooters saw the Dublin side lead 9-18 after the first quarter.

A combination of James Hawkshaw, Jamie Dowd and Joseph Botton put Castlerea on the scoreboard, just about keeping them in touch.

In the second period, Castlerea changed their defence, identified the shooters and, by half time, Mount Temple were shocked to find themselves in a game.

Wonderful, disciplined inside defence saw Jamie Dowd and Joseph Botton stay basket side of their big opponents, resisting the urge to try and block. The pair began to dominate the rebounding battle as Mount Temple’s inside players simply couldn’t finish despite their obvious size advantage.

Dylan Keane also contributed as Mount Temple were left to rely on outside shooting following the defensive adjustment.

Just as it looked like Byrne would continue to dominate, Kevin Hester found his rhythm from the opening game. He nailed a three-pointer to get himself going before two typically amazing finishes among the giants at the basket. Three-pointers for Botton and Keane saw Castlerea within just three points at half time, 28-31.

Mount Temple replied at the beginning of the third quarter through Wisdom’s shooting and while the threat of Byrne had been curtailed, the Dublin school kept their head above water with their big men finding opportunities in the mid-range.

Castlerea CS only managed nine in the quarter — all by Hester. Even though they had reestablished the lead, Mount Temple’s players were visibly rocked, no more than Byrne who had found his match in the free-scoring Hester.

The scoreline read 37-45 going into the fourth quarter.

Hester scored six of Castlerea’s 11 fourth quarter points, leaving his total at 22. Jamie Dowd added a strong inside finish and Ross Flynn a late wing three-pointer.

It wasn’t enough, however, as Mount Temple slowed the game down, forcing Castlerea to up the aggression to get the ball back. The Dublin side knocked down their free throws and extended the lead to 14 (48-62) by the final buzzer.

Castlerea players held their heads high at full time while Mount Temple appeared unsatisfied having been made sweat for their win. They progress to the All-Ireland League quarter-final but will not soon forget the scare the Roscommon men gave them, or the exhibition of individual skill and scoring put on by Kevin Hester.

This brought an end to a thrilling season that saw Castlerea win the North-west regional title and come within a single point of the schools’ cup final on a heartbreaking day in Tallaght.

Jamie Dowd’s 25-point display in the first round of the cup, Dara Curran’s explosion in the cup semi-final and Kevin Hester’s sensational display in the two play-off games were some of the highlights during a busy few months.

For captain Dylan Keane, Ross Flynn, John Curran, Joseph Daire and Conal Murphy, the special days playing basketball up and down the country for Castlerea Community School are over. While these names may not feature at the top end of the scoring charts too often, all of them epitomise the desire, aggression and commitment that Castlerea CS basketball teams have continued to demonstrate down through the years.