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EMYVALE
U16 Boys
Weekend February 5th
Sunday Feb 6th Under 16 Boys.
Lisburn 44pts Donagh 33pts.
The boys were playing their last league game of the season and came out second best to a decent Lisburn team. The Donagh panel were missing a few key players and lacked in the height department which plays a vital role at this level. Lisburn won the match by 9 pts 42 – 33 and this result means the Donagh lads will miss out on a semi final place.
Team and scorers: D. Colton 11pts, A. Curran 7pts, C. Kerr 7pts, S. O’Brien 4pts, K. McGuirk 2pts, J. Brady 2pts, A. O’Brien, N. Rooney, D. McAlister and R. McAnespie.
Weekend January 30th
Under 16 Boys: Donagh 37pts Belfast Star 53pts
This was always going to be a very tall order for the Donagh under 16 boys, St Malachys
Boys who are the junior Belfast Star team had just one the National Schools A Cup
and were on a high, this a marvellous achievement, for not many National Basketball
Titles come north of the Dublin-Galway line. None the less Donagh put in a good shift
and played some nice basketball at times.
Stephen O Brien, Christopher Kerr, Enda Callery, Aodh Curran and Anthony O Brien took to the floor first but Star were out of the blocks fast and notched up two scores. Donagh replied when Aodh found Enda with a good pass but basically the pattern of scoring was they got two for every one we got and they went 8-2 up. Donagh worked hard in offence and Enda shot another score after some great movement but any weakness in the passing was punished and Star hit another basket. Enda found Aodh with a long pass and he made it 10- 6 but one of the twins C. Quinn finished the period with a score to put 6pts between them.
Dathai Colton, Michael McCarville, Niall Rooney, Joe Brady and Rory Sherry faced what looked like Star’s best five but started off really well. Dathai missed two free shots after stealing and driving and the home side might have been level if he had been able to convert 2 lay up chances but the defender running with him was 6ft plus, it was still Donagh who scored first after Rory shot from a rebound. Any hopes of a revival were massacred with Star going up a gear and hitting 8 unanswered points. Stephen had replaced an injury hit Joe and scored but this was like sticking your hand in a wasps nest and boy did they hurt us, 3 three pointers plus a couple of other shots and Star were out of sight. Rory got another basket but Star led by 35pts to 12pts.
Enda, Aodh, Joe, Christopher, and Dathai started the third quarter and went to a 1-3-1 defence to try and limit their outside shooting but Star stole any weak passes and drove to score, they were 41-12 up with 3 steals. Donagh worked really hard and pulled two baskets back through Dathai and Enda. Christopher took a nice shot and scored but within 10 seconds the ball was in Donagh’s basket. They ran the floor so quickly, passed so accurately and made shooting look easy, at times they were a joy to watch. Donagh had their moments, Michael scored on the break and Dathai was put in by Anthony but Star finished the quarter leading by 49pts to 20pts.
Kieran McGuirk joined Dathai, Stephen, Niall and Rory for the last quarter and what a quarter this was for Donagh, the home side won this by 17pts to 4pts. I could tell you they took Star apart and so they did, the score line will back me up on this, but Star had the game won; they knew it and we knew it. What was great was that the home boys worked really hard right to the final whistle, they defended well and took their scores well including a 3 pointer from Aodh.
Team and Scorer: Enda Callery 10pts, Rory Sherry 6pts, Dathai Colton 6pts, Aodh Curran 5pts, Michael McCarville 4pts,Stephen O Brien 2pts, Christopher Kerr 2pts, Niall Rooney 2pts, Joe Brady, Kieran McGuirk and Anthony O Brien.
Weekend January 22nd/23rd
Carrick Rockets 57pts Donagh 29pts
The third game of the day involved the under 16 boys and this match turned out to be the opposite of the previous two. This Carrick team were far too strong for Donagh, they took control of the game from the tip-off and won comfortably.
Stephen O Brien, Christopher Kerr, Dathai Colton, Enda Callery and Ryan McAnespie started for Donagh and it was Ryan who put Donagh 2pts up with a lay up. This lead didn’t last long as Carrick got into gear. Donagh had no answer to the pace, power and accuracy of their play and were 11- 2 down before they got another point from a Ryan free shot. The no 23 Kevin O Hanlon had a stormer of a quarter and racked up 17 of the 21 points. Donagh’s best player Ryan McAnespie scored another lay up and Dathai finished the quarter with a free shot. Score was 21pts to 6pts.
Joe Brady, Aodh Curran, Anthony O Brien, Niall Rooney and Rory Sherry were Donagh’s second quarter five and they gave a good account of themselves. With Aodh doing the spadework Joe hit 4pts before the home side replied with a brace of baskets. Niall and Rory added two points each as Donagh made a mini comeback but Carrick responded again with 3pts of their own. A spirited performance by Donagh finished with another basket from Joe and Donagh won this period 10 to 7 but the overall score was 28-16.
The third quarter was another very strong one from the home side racking up 23pts to Donagh’s 12pts with O Hanlon to the fore in all that was good for them. Kieran McGuirk was introduced for Donagh to try and keep O Hanlon quiet but it was nigh on impossible. Donagh kept the work rate going but they could not the home side away from the basket. Score was 51- 24.
The last quarter was played at a much reduced tempo as both teams knew the game was over long ago as a contest. Carrick hit 6pts and Donagh 5pts as the clock ran down. There is no doubt Carrick should be in the mix at the end of the season but Donagh will have to improve if they are to go further.
Team and Scorers: Joe Brady 8pts, Ryan McAnespie 5pts, Dathai Colton 3pts, Enda Callery 3pts, Niall Rooney 2pts, Rory Sherry 2pts, Aodh Curran 2pts, Stephen O Brien 2pts, Christopher Kerr 2pts, Kieran McGuirk and Anthony O Brien.
Sunday 24 Jan. 11 Donagh 35pts North Star 42pts
If Donagh were to bounce back after the day before’s defeat in Carrickmacross they had the perfect opportunity to do so when they faced North Star from Derry early the next morning with a full complement of players to choose from. It looked like a home win through the first half but North Star had two very good players and they grew in confidence as game went on, their influence was pivotal in a just about deserved away win.
Dathai Colton, Aodh Curran, Stephen O Brien, Enda Callery and Christopher Kerr were up first for Donagh and made a few good chances before Derry broke the deadlock with a free shot. Aodh drove through the centre to give Donagh the lead and then Stephen extended to 4 to 1 with a power bounce and score from close in. Their number 12 was hard to stop and he replied with a drive, this sequence where Donagh scored and the 12 replied was repeated several times for the rest of the quarter. Aodh and Dathai got on the end of several breaks and eventually extended the lead to 5pts. The score was 16pts to 9pts
David McAlister, Joe Brady, Michael McCarville, Rory Sherry and Ryan McAnespie took to the floor and Joe extended the lead to 8pts. Good defence was going to be needed to pull away from the Derry side but they moved the ball about well and were able to pick off their scores. Again the game went in to a tit for tat routine but crucially their number 10 just like the 12 in the first quarter was taking the game to Donagh, if anything he was a better player than the 12. David, Rory and Joe(2) were the home scorers but they lost this period by 11pts to 8pts leaving Donagh leading 24pts to 20pts at half time.
The third quarter started with Niall Rooney joining Enda, Stephen, Dathai, and Aodh and they were now facing the twin threats from Derry of 10& 12. After a cagey opening those two players were instrumental in putting North Star ahead by a point but Donagh responded and went into the lead again with baskets from Aodh and Enda. After a time out changes were made to try and drive Donagh on to victory but it was the away side that responded with a brace of baskets and took a one point lead again. David put Donagh ahead but they finished with their noses in front by a point. Again they won the quarter by 11 to 6 and were ahead by 31pts to 30pts.
The fourth quarter saw the game slip away and David, Michael, Christopher, Niall and Anthony O Brien did get off to the start they would have liked. North Star were up and at it from the start and scored 6pts in a row to open up daylight. Donagh made changes and Enda pulled one back but their number 10 was in top form and when he scored, drew the foul cleverly and put the free shot away North Star were 8pts up. After a time out Christopher had the chance to bring the score down to 6 from the free throw line but he missed and they broke up the court and scored. Aodh hit a great 3 pointer but there was no road back. Final score Donagh 35pts North Star 42pts.
Team and Scorers: Aodh Curran 11pts, Joe Brady 4pts, Enda Callery 4pts, Dathai Colton 4pts, David McAlister 4pts, Stephen O Brien 4pts, Rory Sherry 2pts, Christopher Kerr 2pts, Ryan McAnespie, Anthony O Brien, Niall Rooney and Michael McCarville.
Weekend January 15th
U. 16 Boys Donagh 27pts Blaze 52pts
The under 16 boys were up next but this was always going to be big ask as Letterkenny’s
reputation as a strong boys club with really good teams had proceeded them. However
it didn’t look that way in the first quarter as Aodh Curran, Dathai Colton, Christopher
Kerr, Enda Callery and Stephan O Brien ripped through them to storm into a 6- 0 lead
and they could have been further ahead but for some very scoreable misses. After
a time out Blaze got back into it with 2 baskets but Donagh repelled the come back
and went 10pts to 4pts up and everything looked good and it would have been but for
a 3 pointer just before the break, score was 10pts to 7pts.
The second quarter was a mismatch with the Blaze lads rampant, Ryan McAnespie, Anthony O Brien, Rory Sherry, Niall Rooney and Joseph Brady tried hard but couldn’t make any inroads through a very good defence. The Blaze movement and passing in offence was a joy to watch and their shooting was brilliant, years of everyday practice. They ran up 10 points to no score. David McAlister was brought on but he was ineffective. Half time score was 17pts to 10pts.
Kieran McGuirk joined Dathai, Enda, Christopher and Stephan and they upped their game again but there was no stopping Blaze. Donagh did hit 10pts in this period but they could not defend against the excellent movement that left someone free everytime for a shot, they scored 19pts to leave the score at 36pts to 20pts going in to the last quarter.
The last quarter was more of the same as Blaze ran up another 16pts to Donagh’s 7 and really the game was no contest. The under 16 A league is a tough place to be with some really good sides but if you want to learn you have to play the best. Final score was 52pts to 27pts.
Team and Scorers: Aodh Curran 8pts, Enda Callery 6pts, Stephan O Brien 6pts, Kieran McGuirk 2pts, Christopher Kerr 2pts, Joe Brady 2pts, Rory Sherry 1pt, Ryan McAnespie, Anthony O Brien, Niall Rooney, David McAlister, Dathai Colton.
Weekend Nov 13th
2 from 2 for 16 Boys
Donagh 55 Queens 28
The under 16 boys were next up for their first home game of the season and it was obvious from the start that they were more focused and determined than they have shown in training of late. Maybe it was the presence of a good number of parents or the fact that they have been flirting with stage careers after a week starring in the St. Macartans Musical but something had an impact and they put on a real show, it was fast, skilful basketball and they blew the opposition away.
Dathai Colton, Stephen O Brien, Enda Callery, Christopher Kerr and Anthony O Brien got the game under way for Donagh and scored straight from the tip-off, Dathai ran on to the tip down from Stephen and laid it in. A Queens offence yielded one point from 2 free shots and that was the only score the visitors got in this quarter, they were completely overran as Anthony and Dathai stole ball after ball and broke down the court. Dathai hit 8 with Enda and Stephen adding 3 each, this would not have been possible without the excellent work rate of Anthony and the dependability of Christopher. Score was 14pts to 1pt.
Well if that was good (and it was) David McAllister, Niall Rooney, Rory Sherry, Michael McCarville and Joe Brady set out to do better. David was in brilliant form and he put Queens under pressure straight away, he got shots, scored one and Michael rebounded the second and scored. Then David broke again scored his lay up and the free shot to leave the score at 20pts to 1pt. Queens had one successful offence and scored a shot but apart from that it was all Donagh. Rory won the ball in his own defence and drove to the basket for a score. David put away another two shots before he set up Joe with 2 excellent full court passes and Joe made no mistake. The defensive work rate was very high and is to be commended and this contributed greatly to the score of 30pts to 3pts.
Kieran McGuirk joined Stephen, Christopher, Dathai and Rory for the third quarter but with being so far in front they dropped the work rate and concentration. Queens scored first but Stephen grabbed a rebound for the home side. Then the Belfast side scored 9 unanswered points and Coaches Pat Mohan and Enda O Brien got a little jittery. After a time out the work rate was put back on track and Dathai scored, Rory hit a good shot and then Niall Rooney came on and scored. Queens had the last say when they made the third quarter score 38pts to16pts.
The last quarter was really a formality but it was a very open quarter with both sides scoring freely, this included 2 3 pointers from Queens and one from Donagh’s David McAllister. There were frequent substitutions but some good play too and this period yielded a score of 17pts to 13pts and a game score of 55pts to 28pts.
This was a great run out for the Donagh lads and it was great to see that they got the eye make up rubbed off, I’m not sure what those Queens boys would have made of that. However the next 2 games will be the real test of how they are doing, we go to Carrickmacross at the end of the month and then we entertain Belfast Star in early December.
Team and scorers: David McAllister 13pts, Dathai Colton 10pts,Stephen O Brien 9pts, Niall Rooney 6pts, Joe Brady 6pts, Rory Sherry 4pts, Enda Callery 3pts, Michael McCarville 2pts, Christopher Kerr 2pts, Anthony O Brien, Kieran McGuirk.