Neptune beat champs as unbeaten Tralee top table

Neptune inflicted a second straight defeat on defending champions Griffith College Éanna as they ran out 91-82 winners in Neptune Stadium on Monday, while St Vincent’s fought back from 20 points down to earn their first victory of the campaign at the expense of Sligo All-Stars, winning 100-96 in Mercy College.

It proved a disappointing double-game weekend for Éanna after losing at home to Killester on Friday.

Despite a promising opening quarter that saw them carve out a five-point lead, the defending champions were ground down by Pat Price’s side, thanks to the 53-point total put up by Ar’mond Davis and Jahmal Wright.

The Dublin side had five players in double figures, including Sean Jenkins on 18 points, but that did not stop them slipping to four and two in the table, and leaving them six points adrift of unbeaten leaders Tralee Warriors.

St Vincent’s produced a remarkable comeback from 20 points down almost midway through the second quarter to edge out the Sligo unit for their first win of the Men’s Super League season.

JaRon Thames and Samuel Henderson spearheaded this impressive recovery with a combined 56 points and 15 rebounds as they chased down Sligo, despite the huge 70 points that Jevonnie Scott, Jonathan Brown and John Carroll served up for the home side.

"Our guys have shown a ridiculous amount of heart and fight over the past few games against the top talent of this league, so I’m glad that we came out with something to show for it in the win column" said St Vincent’s head coach, Carter Vance.

"We preach to our guys to never get too high or too low, and that mentality doesn’t change after a win or loss.

"We’re looking forward to being back in Glasnevin to prepare for the first round of cup play this weekend" he