An impressive first-quarter performance, in which they outscored Presentation De la Salle Bagenalstown by 13 points, laid the foundation for St. Muredach’s College’s 63-40 point victory in Tuesday’s All-Ireland Under 19B Boys Schools Cup Final in the National Basketball Arena.
Indeed, it was St. Muredach’s who made the early running with James O’Boyle and Brian Donoghue hitting two buckets in quick succession before game MVP Brian Morrison executed from outside the arc to help propel their side 11-4 up.
Matters grew at lot more ominous for Presentation when Nathan Roddy drained two throws from the line and Mark Cunningham served up buckets either side of a three by Morrison, as St Muredach’s led 26-13 at the close of the first quarter.
Jeremy Hla was keeping Presentation in it as he bagged seven in the opening quarter, but the Carlow side really needed to make more stops if they were to close the gap on their opponents.
Instead the turnover rate was favouring St. Muredach’s who enlarged the gap to 18 by the half-time break with Morrison and Roddy each taking their tally to 14 by that point.
Presentation did dig in late in the third quarter, putting together a nine-point run that featured a deuce and three from Hla that were supplemented by a bucket from Sean Hanlon.
But two converted free throws by Brian Morrison brought that surge to a close, while Cian Morrison also drained one from the line to keep St. Muredach’s well in the driving seat heading into the final quarter.
And the Ballina side were never going to allow their opponents a route back in as Roddy hit all three of his two-point attempts down the stretch and Brian O’Donoghue weighed in with a further four to help keep their side well clear.