Mullingar Dragons Basketball Club

Commiserations to our men"s senior basketball team who were narrowly defeated by Dundalk Ravens in the NEBL Top 4 play offs on Saturday last, April 18, in Longford.Defeat was a hard pill to swallow for Mullingar as the game had been a toughly fought contest, where both sides battled until the final whistle.Ravens were first on the scoreboard, as Dragons" defence were unsettled. Ravens soon got in under the boards again to increase the margin. However, Tyrone Brunton took control then and hit the Mullingar side"s opening score with a three pointer. He added two more jump shots and another three pointer, to put the Dragons ahead. Stephen Cole notched up two quick baskets also yet at the other end, Ravens also added easy scores. The two sides drew level twice in the first quarter but neither team could get the edge. Tyrone Brunton and Stephen Cole kept the Dragons scoring going, but it was Mullingar"s lax defence that allowed Ravens back in leaving the score at 29 apiece at the end of the first quarter.Tyrone Brunton once more began the scoring in the second for the Dragons, adding six points. This was quickly answered by Ravens with three pointers and an easy rebound. Mullingar tried a man-to-man defence, but that gave Ravens more openings and they took control of the game, adding 10 points to their score, despite good work from Mark Dalton. Derek Grimes added another basket and Tim Regan and Stephen Cole hit four more points between them, but the Dragons failed to rebound well and were punished under the boards. Ravens had secured a narrow lead of 47 to 41 going in at half time.Dragons came out fighting in the third and began playing much better. The in-form Tyrone Brunton drove to the net time after time, adding to his team"s score as too did Derek Grimes, and later, Stephen Cole. Good work from Brendan Cleary kept the Ravens back, but they found their form again and the minutes began to tick down. Ravens somehow managed to pull ahead at the end of the third on a scoreline of 74 to 67.The pressure of the game was now huge, and tensions ran high around the court, provoking some stupid fouls. Tyrone Brunton hit eight points in the opening minutes, closely followed by good shooting from Stephen Cole and Gavin McDonagh. The sides soon drew level for the last time in the game as Brunton hit two free throws after a bad foul.Ravens, however, pulled ahead yet again almost immediately from the throw in. Dragons" continued to battle, with Gavin McDonagh scoring two fantastic three pointers, to bring them back within just two points of Ravens. A foul was called on the Dragons in the last minute and Ravens headed to the line securing the free throw, putting them three ahead. Dragons pushed for a score, but their efforts proved fruitless and Ravens secured one more basket just as the whistle blew, leaving the full time score 88 to 83 to Ravens, and ending the NEBL season for Mullingar Dragons.Team: Derek Grimes, Gavin McDonagh, Stephen Cole, Brendan Cleary, Tyrone Brunton, Alan McCoy, Adam Price, Mark Price, Robbie Morley, Chris Finnegan, Tim Regan, Mark Dalton, Kieran Morley and Albert Lee.