U16 Boys T1

Coach:

Team Manager:

League: Kerry Airport U16 Boys Div 1

Cup: Kerry Airport U16 Boys Cup

13/03/23 League

Lee Strand Magic 54-45 St. Brendan's

On Monday we hosted St Brendan’s in our final fixture in Division 1 of the county league. With both teams in contention to qualify for the All Ireland series it was an eagerly anticipated contest which drew a great crowd who added greatly to the occasion.  The visitors started much better than us and ran into an early 14-0 lead. Following a timeout the boys settled into the game and with Conor Galvin hitting some great scores we reduced the deficit to 8 points at the end of the first as we trailed 9-17. We upped our intensity on defence in the second period and with Johnny Dawson hitting 12 points in the quarter we led 29-26 at halftime. Fionnan Ryan was controlling the pace of the game at this point but St Brendan’s kept the game close thanks to some excellent 3 point shooting in the third. In fact Fionnan hit 10 points in this quarter and with Conor Galvin putting on an exhibition of shot blocking we headed into the final period leading 47-36. The fourth quarter was about game management and the boys managed to keep their noses in front to complete a hard fought 56-45 win. Defensively Will, Ruairi, Conor McGibney and Jamie helped up the ante when we needed it most.

Great credit is due to both sets of players as fantastic sportsmanship was shown throughout the game. The parents and supporters also helped create a great atmosphere. The future of basketball in Tralee is in good hands with the two clubs in town producing players of such high quality.

Top scorers:

Johnny Dawson 22

Fionnan Ryan 14

Conor Galvin 10

Jamie Cleary Lynch 4

Will Leahy 4

Conor McGibney 2

26/02/23 Cup Semi Finals

Rathmore Ravens 68-48 Lee Strand Magic

On Sunday we travelled to Rathmore for the semi final of the u16 boys division 1 cup. It was always going to be a big challenge to play the runaway league leaders in their own hall and that’s how it played out.  We started well defensively in the first quarter but found it difficult to score ourselves. Thanks to early baskets from Conor Galvin and Will Leahy we finished the first quarter down just four points 11-15. Rathmore came out strong in the second period and ran the ball very well. We struggled to match their intensity and with Fionnan Ryan and Jamie playing well we still fell behind 18-40 at the break. The third quarter again  proved very difficult with Fionnan and Johnny carrying the fight to our hosts but we trailed at the  end of  the quarter 28-55.

We showed great character in the final period and played hard right to the end. We managed to close the gap by the end of the game to finish 48-68. Darragh O Shea played fantastic defence in this period and hit two great outside shots to finish with  5 points.

Congratulations to Rathmore who have shown themselves to be the best team in the county all year. Our boys have improved tremendously  and have one more game to play before the end of our league season.

Top scorers.

Fionnan Ryan 17

Conor Galvin 9

Jamie Cleary Lynch 7

23/02/23 League

St. Brendan's 42-48 Lee Strand Magic

On Thursday evening we took on St Brendans in Moyderwell in Division 1 of the county league.

We started very well thanks to great defensive effort along with a fantastic exhibition of shooting from  Fionnan Ryan who had 10 points to ensure we led at the first break 14-11. Our defense continued to work hard in the second quarter and with Jamie and Johnny starting to add to the scoreboard we were ahead at the halftime break 28-21. The third quarter was a see-saw affair with both teams having runs of scoring at various times. Conor McGibney,Will and Ruairi worked very hard on defense and with our transition game improving we headed in to the final period leading 41-33.

We struggled to  score in the final quarter but again our defense ensured we held out for a 48-42 win.

Well done to the boys who have really improved this season. We have one more league game to play  along with a cup semi final so hopefully we can continue our good form. Thanks to St Brendans for a sporting and very competitive game.

Top Scorers

Fionnan Ryan 20

Johnny Dawson 12

Jamie Cleary Lynch 8

Conor McGibney 4

Conor Galvin 4

20/02/23 League

Lee Strand Magic 62-45 St. Paul's

13/02/23 League

Lee Strand Magi 59-65 St. Mary's

20/01/23 League

Rathmore Ravens 67-33 Lee Strand Magic

On Monday evening we took on St Paul’s of Killarney in Division 1 of the county league. We started well with an early ‘3’ from Fionnan and a couple of close range drives from Conor McGibney and Johnny. Our defence was solid in this period and we led 16-8 at the end of the first. Jamie, Johnny and Fionnan carried the scoring load in the second quarter but defensively everyone contributed with great intensity and effort. We scored 21 points in this phase to lead 37-19 at halftime.

The biggest cheer of the night was when Eoghan Crowley hit a lovely shot from the corner to help us to lead 53-31 heading in to the final quarter. Everyone got on the floor on the night and it was great to see Darragh O Shea hit a jump shot from just inside the 3 point line hitting nothing but net.  Everyone showed that their hard work at training is paying off and all the boys have certainly  improved since the start of the season. We have two hard games left in the county league against St Brendan’s before the season finishes.

Scorers on the night:

Fionnan Ryan 23

Johnny Dawson 18

Jamie Cleary Lynch 10

Conor Galvin 4

Eoghan Crowley 3

Darragh O Shea 2

Conor McGibney 2

20/11/22 Cup Round 1

Bye

13/11/22

St. Mary's 61-59 Lee Strand Magic

We travelled to Castleisland for our third game in Division 1 of the County League.

We started strongly and with aggressive defense and some fantastic shooting from Johnny Dawson we led 15-8 at the end of the first.

Castleisland’s running game caused us issues in the 2nd quarter and we fell behind but showed great character to stead the ship with crucial baskets from Jamie and Fionnan we stayed in the game and trailed by just 3 points at the half 29-26.

Jamie picked up an injury in the second quarter and was unable to play any further part in the game. This was a huge loss but the boys worked really hard to compensate and with Fionnan and Johnny carrying us on offense and everybody working their socks off on defense we led 43-41 going in to the fourth.

In an exciting end to the game Castleisland hit a late basket to tie the game and bring it to overtime.

With 15 seconds to go in overtime the sides were level and a late basket by St Mary’s put them 2 points ahead.

We only had time for a long range effort and unfortunately we just fell short on the night.

Well done to St Marys and thanks to Julie and Tom for reffing the game.

The boys are improving week on week and have plenty to play for as the season progresses.

Scorers:

Fionnan Ryan 24

Johnny Dawson 22

Janie Cleary Lynch 9

Conor Galvin 4

24/10/22

St. Paul's 41-71 Lee Strand Magic

10/10/22

Lee Strand Magic 40-67 Rathmore Ravens