Write a commentNewry Fliers took to the road again last week, with a journey on Wednesday to Lisburn to play the CB Eagles. The squad had an unfamiliar look with new faces at senior level, however Newry were still able to bring a full squad on the journey.
CB Eagles posed a big threat from the onset. Newry starting with a more experienced line-up, who were blown away early on from a tough, physical offence. CB Eagles dominated hitting some big shots early. Racing into an 11-0 lead, coach McGreevy called a time out in a bid to pick up his clearly deflated team. Newry composed themselves from the restart, changing to a 3 2 defence and got themselves some points on the boards. Captain Crawley shrugged of CB Eagles’ physical defensive wall and drove through it with a strong 3 point play. More free throws seen Newry finish the first quarter trailing by 11 points.
Newry didn’t take as long to get going in the second, again Crawley taking a battering to register point for his team, and a combination of quick passing and an effective pick a roll offence, big man Niall Byrne got himself on the scoreboard with a couple of easy layups. Baskets from Decky Mathers and Anthony Green saw the Fliers reduced their opponents lead as the finished the half.
The Third quarter brought a more direct and effective attack from the eagles. The forced Newry’s defence into tricky situations which led to them fouling their opponents or leaving them wide open for easy baskets. Eoin Mc Stay and Garret Campbell baskets ensured the CB eagles didn’t run away with the game in the third.
As the final quarter began Newry knew they would have to dig deep to overturn this deficit. And while they continued to knock on the door, their opponents continued to slam it shut. They saw out the game and extended their lead over the fliers, finishing 63-41 victors. It was another learning curve for this relatively new squad but positives were there to be taken from the game, with Fliers coaching staff encouraged by some of the improvements they have seen from their squad.
Final Score: Newry Fliers 41 CB Eagles 63
