LIT Celtics lost out to Neptune on a 112 to 103 scoreline in what was a cracker of a National League All Ireland Quarter- final last night in ERC in Carrigaline last Friday night.
The visitors took the lead in the first quarter with some super scores from Matt St Armour, John Galvin and Krystian Burchardt. Neptune’s full court press then started to pay dividends with two quick steals and two three pointers Neptune had reduced the Limerick lead to four points.
Neptune had the better of the opening exchanges in the opening minutes of the second quarter but the LIT Celtics team then regained their composure and finished out the half to reduce the Neptune lead to four with some good scores from Matt St Armour, Tommy Walsh, Emmet Brown and Jordan Hehir.
The Celtics started the third quarter with some excellent team basketball and were finding their way through the Neptune’s full court press with greater ease to finish off some super inside scores. The teams were neck and neck until the fourth quarter with Ciaran Woods, John Galvin and Krsytian Burchardt causing problems for the Cork side as they continued to chase up on every rebound.
Matt St Armour picked up some hard hits in the closing minutes as Neptune tried to stop the league’s top scorers and League All Star from taking the game for the LIT Celtics team. Two huge shots from the Cork side in the closing minute gave them the win on the night in what was an incredible game of basketball from start to finish.
LIT Celtics had to stop the clock in order to reduce the gap but Neptune finished the game with six from six free throws to allow them to move on to play Ballincollig in the All Ireland Semi Final. Final score in Cork was Neptune 113 LIT Celtics 102.
Top Scorers were Matt St Armour on 47 points, John Galvin 24 points and Krystian Burchardt 17 points. LIT Celtics finished off their second half of the National league with five wins out of seven games and will have gained huge experience from their first season in National league.
LIT Celtics would like to thank the following for their support this season: LIT College and Sports Department, Limerick Celtics club, committee and supporters, Pat Shanahan, The Limerick Leader, Sporting Limerick and Basketball Ireland .
Limerick Celtics have three teams in the Cork Division One Cup finals this coming weekend. Limerick Celtics under 12, under 13 and under 14 are all through to the Cork Division One Cup finals which run over the coming Saturday and Sunday. Best of luck to all three teams and we will keep you up to-date on twitter and facebook.
Social Sharing
