In past history the Titans have been formidable opponents to the Newry Club and coach Paul Crawley new his side would not be handed an easy win.
The game opened with a quick and easy basket from the Filers Mark Hanratty however the remainder of the quarter did not follow suit. The Titans ran a full court press on every inbound ball and the Newry boys responded with weak passing and a sense of panic, the boys allowed the Titans to determine the flow of the game and although Newry finished the first quarter 6 to 4 up it was clear that Newry needed to settle their game.
The second quarter saw the Fliers fight hard with strong rebounding from Aled Jenkins which lead to much needed points for the Newry side. Aled was supported under the baskets by Conlith Cull who is showing great determination to master the game and add to the Fliers strengths.
Unfortunately the Newry side where held back in the 2nd quarter by a barrage of fowls being committed by the Titans which ate into the game time allowing Titans to be 14 to 12 up at the end of the 2nd quarter.
The league title looked to be slipping away from the Fliers as the 2nd quarter finished but some inspirational words from both coach and captain in the break lead to a determined Newry side taking control of the game in the 3rd and 4th quarters. Conor Campbell and Terry Guo showed great skill in the point guard position and tore the Titans defence apart with strong drives and accurate passing. Team captain Niall Byrne led by example and exposed the Titans weaknesses so his team mates Sean Bannon and Conor Doran could take advantage. Confident Fliers held the Titans to 5 points in the 3rd quarter finishing 27 to 19 in Newry’s favour.
The final quarter saw Newry’s inside man Nial Mc Ardle earn some well fought baskets driving his team to victory, however the titans were not going to surrender their home court easily forcing the Filers to fight to the final whistle.
A very physical game for the U19 boys with Titans players racking up 24 fowls in a 28 minute game but the Newry side left the court with the much needed 3 league points.
The team can celebrate the win over Christmas but need to keep their focus as they face Bangor at home on January 9th.
Team:
Nial Mc Ardle (8pts), Aled Jenkins (7pts), Sean Bannon (5pts), Nial Byrne (C)(4pts), Terry Guo (4pts), Connor Campbell (4pts), Mark Hanratty ( 2pts), Conor Doran (2pts), P. Kavanagh, Conlith Cull, David Ruddy, Adrian Burns, H. Lui.
