Castleisland CC see off Summerhill College in All-Ireland U16 'A' Boys Schools League showpiece

Castleisland Community College flexed their defensive muscles in the second half as they held Summerhill College to 15 points in that period and ran out 75-43 winners in Wednesday’s All-Ireland Under 16A Boys Schools League decider in the National Basketball Arena.

Co-captain Tadhg McCarthy totalled a game-high 19 points for the Kerry side and scooped the MVP accolade on a day that also saw Jamie Nolan and Podge O’Sullivan weigh in with a combined 26.

Summerhill did manage to keep their opponents in sight throughout the opening half, but the scores began to dry up for them after the break as Castleisland made the stops and punish ruthlessly down the other end.

It was, nevertheless, an encouraging start for the Sligo side in this decider as scores from Manus McManus and Oliver Ettery, along with a strike from downtown by Jack Kelly, saw them move 11-6 in front almost midway through the opening quarter.

But Castleisland accounted for the next eight points, O’Sullivan and Nolan striking from the floor before Danny Murphy drained his two free throws to see the Kerry side overtake.

A further bucket from McCarthy, together with a Nolan three left them 19-15 in front by the end of that opening period.

Captain, James Lineen did draw first blood for Summerhill in the second quarter only to see their opponents respond with the next five points as McCarthy executed from both sides of the arc.

Ettery did land a nice score from distance for Summerhill, but they still stuggled to close the gap on their Kerry opponents who finished the half strong with buckets from O’Sullivan, Nolan and McCarthy to take a ten-point cushion into the break.

Matters grew worse for Summerhill in the third quarter, during which they were outgunned by nine points as McCarthy and Glen O’Sullivan combined for as much.

Facing a 19-point deficit heading into the final quarter, the Sligo side needed something special to haul this one out of the fire, but instead it was Castleisland who continued to motor, O’Sullivan and Danny Murphy opening up the fourth with a deuce and three respectively.

The shots were just not dropping for Summerhill, and Castleisland were able to punish on the fast breaks, Ogie O’Leary Griffin, Glen O’Sullivan and Cian Cahill’s buckets being book-ended by big strikes off the three-point line by Jakub Surzyn and Joey Kelly, as the Kerry side put up 20 points in the fourth to run out convincing winners.

“It was a great performance by every one of the players and a great win for the school” remarked Castleisland Community College head coach, Maurice Casey.

“Once we got to grips with them on defence and stopped them getting in too easily, we just moved on from there” he said.

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Quarter Scores: Q1: 15-19, Q2: 28-38, Q3: 36-55, Q4: 43-75 

Summerhill College:

Konrad Zdreujewski, Dayo Balorinwa, Daniel Leahy, Pearse Gallagher, Max Bresnihan, Antoni Kowalczyk, James Meehan, Conor Gormley, Jack Kelly, Oliver Ettery, Thomas Casey, Patryck Olszewski, James Lineen (capt), Manus McManus, Danny Feeney.

Top Scorers: Oliver Ettery (14), James Lineen (10), Jack Kelly (9).

Head Coach: John Moran 

Castleisland Community College:

Jamie Nolan, Jakub Surzyn, Podge O’Sullivan (co-capt), Shay O’Connor, Danny Murphy, Tadhg McCarthy (co-capt), Glen O’Sullivan, Cian Cahill, Joey Kelly, Ogie O’Leary Griffin, Jack O’Connor, Darragh O’Sullivan, James Barry.

Top Scorers: Tadhg McCarthy (19), Jamie Nolan (14), Podge O’Sullivan (12).

Head Coach: Maurice Casey

 

MVP:  Tadhg McCarthy (Castleisland Community College).