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ESB Cup, Men's Semi-Final
Star of the Sea 91
Waterford 74Underdogs Star never let up in the first of the men’s semi-finals, managing to make a win over Waterford Crystal look simple. John Leahy was in doubt ahead of the weekend with a reoccurring injury, but the 6’9’’ forward played his best game of the season. A long final quarter finally finished 91-74 to grant Star a place in the finals and put an end to Waterford Crystal’s dreams for another year.
Star had a superb opening quarter, three 3-pointers in the first minute. The duo of Marvin Dixon and John Leahy all over the Waterford defence, to give Star an early 11-2 lead. James Singleton and Ryan Gorman worked hard to get Waterford into the game but 5 minutes into the game and Star had stretched a 12 point lead, 21-9. Star kept the pressure on and ended the quarter 27-16.
Malone opened the second quarter, converting one of his free shots. Waterford upped their defence in the second quarter, keeping Star scoreless until the fifth minute. A foul on Kavanagh under the baskets and Kavanagh converted to make it a 5-point game, 22-27. While Star retained the lead throughout the quarter, two consecutive three-pointers, one from Gorman and one from Keohane narrowed Waterford’s deficit, 37-34 with two minutes left in the half. It was the closest Waterford were to get for the remainder of the game and baskets from Fulton and Leahy helped Star retain the lead at half time, 37-42.
The third quarter where Star were expected to fizzle and Waterford take control never happened. Although Waterford fought hard, three pointers from Leahy, Maguire and Summersgill gave Star a 15point lead, 39-54, with four minutes gone in the half.
Waterford made three fast breaks and missed all three opportunities, before Coach Evans called a time-out. Marvin Dixon picked up his fourth personal foul in the closing minutes and sat out until midway through the final quarter. Star entered the final quarter leading 64-47.The final quarter quarter offered Waterford little hope, when again they missed easy lay-ups and struggled to stop Summersgill and Leahy. With 5 minutes left in the game, Summersgill hit another 3-pointer to give Star an 18pt advantage
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