UCD Marians season opener didn’t go according to plan as a strong Limerick side held them to a 10point defeat.

UL Eagles’ Scott Kinevane suffered the heartache of losing in the final last season to  Killester but his side’s determination to make amends this season was evident by their gritty 82-72 success away to UCD/Marian.

Limerick’s recent recruits Cameron Mitchell and Carlton Cuff impressed and Irish international Kinevane was pleased with what he saw from the duo.

"It is a very positive start,” said Kinevane. “It was a tough game to start in a tight gym. In many ways it was a new look UL with our new Head Coach Mark and the likes of Cameron Mitchell and Carlton Cuff coming into the side. Cameron had a great start, Cuff is a great addition and the arrival of those two guys is keeping everyone on their toes and if you mess around you will be sitting on the bench."

UCD’s Barry Glover marked his return from a lengthy absence with a fine performance including a tally of 12 points, while 6’7’ James Crowder’s shooting was another highlight for the Dubliners.

Crowder and Conor Meany led a quick burst of scoring to quickly bring the deficit back to 4 points in the third quarter.  After the UL time out, Matt Hall again struck with two threes, while UCD Marian’s scoring dried up for a few vital minutes. Thus, as the game entered the final quarter the lead for UL was again twelve points.

“UCD got it back to four but the experience of last year stood to us, we didn’t panic,” added Kinevane. “We want to go one better this season, our main goal is to reach the final of the cup and make up for losing the final of the league last season.”