Portlaoise keep rolling while Tolka Rovers cause a shock in your Domino's Division One Wrap

ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers fought off a stern test from Limerick Sport Eagles to take home a sixth consecutive Domino's Men's Division One win by a scoreline of 88-74 in UL Arena on Friday night.

With seven players in the rotation, it was Michael Wallace who provided the spark for Portlaoise with 29 points but was strongly accompanied by Rich Ashu, who had 19 points and 13 rebounds as Portlaoise who went on a 22-2 run in the fourth quarter to take home the win and stay top of the Domino’s Men’s Division One at 6-0. For the Eagles, the loss drops them down to fifth with a record of 4-2 after the loss.

Elsewhere, Dublin Lions entered the top three in Division One with an 81-77 triumph over Moy Tolka Rovers on Saturday evening. Ignacio Folgueiras and Russell Marr combined for 49 of Lions 81 points as they went to 4-2 in the Domino’s Men’s Division One table. With Tolka, they drop to eighth position and lose their positive record with them now at 3-3 for the season.

A 33-point triple double performance for Vernon Jackson lifted Drogheda Wolves to second with an 86-77 win over Templeogue. Millan Lopez did his bets for Templeogue with 27 points on 25 efficiency but the Louth side had too much for them to contend with. The defeat for Templeogue leaves them at 1-4 for the season still searching for a second win and in 14^th  spot in the table.

Team Northwest are yet to find their opening victory of the season after another loss to Carrick Cruisers on Saturday 85-74. A strong team performance was the recipe for Cruisers as five players were in the double digits for points in the game. The loss is Northwest’s fifth in a row and leaves them bottom of the table. They will be hoping for a turn up in fortunes soon.

Malahide are also still searching for their elusive first win as they suffered a sixth consecutive loss to Ulster University 79-71 in UUJ. Prince Ebwea continued his excellent form with 25 points for Ulster as they now get to 4-1 in sixth place with a game in hand on the teams above them.

Tipp Talons picked up their second victory of the season with a 22-point win over Killarney Cougars in Killenaule with a score of 96-74. Talons went into the half-time break behind, but a 29-6 third quarter period completely turned the game on its head. A 26 point, 8 rebound and 9 assist showing from Aleksandar Kovacevic being flanked by a 22-point game from Emmanuel Kabengele and another 16 from Matthew McHale got the Talons over the line for a finish and puts them in 12^th, one position above the Cougars who are now 1-5.

In the final game of the weekend in the Domino’s Men’s Division One, SPK Utility Trust Lakers defeated Maigh Cuilinn 88-80 to get to 3-3 after six games of the season. A 30-point game from Stephen Kelly, along with 21 from Samuel Grant and 17 from Eoin Carroll, capped off a strong performance from the Killarney side who won every quarter of the game. The loss leaves the Galway side at 2-4 in the table in 11^th spot in the table.

In the Domino’s Women’s Division One, Moy Tolka Rovers shocked joint league leaders Limerick Celtics with a 73-68 win. It is a win that takes Tolka to 2-3 for the season and puts them up to fifth place in the table. The loss for Celtics sees them fall to third place and go 3-2 through five games. Celtics shooting struggles continued to show, going 6-30 from three point range in a game they tied up with minutes left in the fourth. However, four Tolka players ended the game in double digits for points with Elaine Kenny and Naomi Farrington scoring inside the final minute to ensure Tolka went home the victors.

In Limerick, The Huskies jumped to second place with a 14-point win over University of Galway Mystics 76-62. Shelby Harmeyer had her second consecutive 29-point performance after reaching the same total last weekend against Moy Tolka Rovers. Clara Gomez had 12 points but also pulled in 18 rebounds for Huskies in a game where the Limerick side grabbed a total of 58 boards to Galway’s 28. The loss for Galway is their third straight and leaves them in sixth whilst Limerick Sport Huskies seem to have laid a marker down on their intentions for this season.

Templeogue remained the sole league leaders with a 79-49 win over Swords Thunder to go 4-1 in the Domino’s Women’s Division One. Sofia Paska had her highest scoring game yet this season with 31 as she leads the league in points per game for the season so far. For Swords they will feel it is a sobering loss in a game where they never really got going and were down 31 points by the half time break. Kayce Vaile led the game for Swords with 23 points, 15 rebounds and seven steals but unfortunately it wasn’t to be for the Dublin side. The defeat leaves the Thunder at the foot of the table with a 1-3 record.

The final game of the weekend in the Domino’s Women’s Division One saw a double overtime thriller of a Dublin derby come down to the final seconds as Abbey Seals Dublin Lions defeated Dublin Raiders 79-77 thanks to two free throws at the end of the second overtime period from Emily Smyth. Makenzie Helms of Lions and Mikayla Woods of Raiders did battle for six straight quarters, with Helms coming out on top, dropping 31 points for Dublin Lions. Woods left it all out on the court with 28 of her own points along with 22 rebounds for Raiders. The win gives Lions their first win of the season whilst the loss sees the Raiders go negative on the season at 2-3.