Game Day 2 in St. Joe's College

After a good rest and a relaxing morning the Under 18's were up and ready for action this afternoon in St Joseph's College. This has quickly become the new home gym for the squad since coming Connecticut.

The first game of two against Northstars AAU teams 1 and 2 saw some great performances from the Irish boys who had clearly came to play and stamped their authority on the game quickly. Leading the pack was Tramore native, Jack Murphy, who managed to score 10 points in the first 5 minutes of the game. On a number of occasions he linked up well with his club team mate, David Connolly who helped coordinate a fast paced Irish attack which lead to a strong lead early in the first half which they were not to relinquish for the rest of the game.

The second half became a lot more structured for the lads when Adam McDonald, Peter Herron and Barry Denieffe all contributed which strong moves close to the basket. All of Adam's points in the second half came from the free-throw line as he continuously took his game to the American team and made the most of the free-throws that were awarded to him. The game ended 62-42 in favour of the Irish Squad (Leading Scorers: Jack Murphy 16pts, Peter Herron 12pts, Barry Denieffe 8pts).

In the second game the second half of the Irish Squad had a much tougher test against the slightly older Northstars AAU 2 squad which included two players who are headed for Division 2 college basketball next season. The local team came out of the blocks running with a quick score right off the tip. As the lads struggled to come to terms with the balanced attack of the Connecticut based team strong play from Ben Horner and Neil Lynch managed to keep the team in the game through the first half.

Despite being down as much as 19 points at one stage in the second half the lads continued to work and play hard. Once the Cork guard Adrian O'Sullivan began to come alive in the second half the lads managed to but a run together which brought them back to within 6 in the last minute. Unfortunately this push was just a bit to little a bit too late as the game finished 60-54 in favour of a very strong Northstars AAU team(Leading Scorers: Ben Horner 18pts,Neil Lynch 15pts, Adrian O'Sullivan 11pts.)

Coach Francis O'Sullivan had this to say "After the second day of competitive matches we are continuing to learn more about the players as we try to find the right balance within the teams."