Blackstone suffer first setback of basketball season

The Ballymena club had been forced to prepare for this key game without starting forward Michael Murray, having received confirmation that the 18-year-old University of Ulster student will be out for up to four weeks with the knee injury sustained at the Tigers last weekend, and his absence left the Braidmen stretched from the outset.

The game started fairly evenly with both teams trading scores throughout the opening two quarters of play. Blackstone initially looked static offensively at times, but they found the space they needed on the perimeter by spreading the floor and exploiting the penetration of guards Adam Murray and Marty McDonald.

In the opening period, Star’s patience and ball movement found the home team often struggling to pressure the ball aggressively enough and prevent the final pass but Ballymena’s key men kept them in touch with the visitors with solid offensive contributions.

Adam Murray was particularly effective offensively, shooting under pressure off the dribble and attacking the basket, while forward Peter McNicholl hit a purple patch going into half-time.

Shortly after the restart the game swung in Star’s favour in controversial fashion. In less than 30 seconds, Blackstone went from three to 11 points behind. Having been denied a foul call under the Star basket, McNicholl reacted badly to a subsequent foul call against McDonald and drew a quick-fire double technical from the referee and was ejected from the game.

With six free-throws plus possession, Star’s lead grew into double figures and the game started to drift beyond the severely depleted home team.

In the third quarter Ballymena were glad to see the return of Barry McCormick to the game after picking up a first half injury, but with Blackstone reduced to just six men, the challenge proved too much.

Marty McDonald led the home team bravely on both ends of the court, picking off several Star passes, getting to the hoop on a number of occasions and linking up well with Adam Hillis who was very effective in transition and made several intelligent back-door plays before topping off his night with an impressive one-handed dunk on the break.

By the beginning of the final quarter, however, Star were comfortably ahead by over twenty points and they closed the game out for an assured victory.

However, the Ballymena club will take positives from some solid individual performances, increased playing time for the improving Dean Hillis, and a Premier League debut for 15-year-old schoolboy Brendan O’Mullan who showed some good defensive intensity.