UCD Marian inflicted more misery on their capital foes DCU Saints after an excellent display saw them book their place in the semi finals of the Men’s SuperLeague National Cup courtesy of an 81-65 scoreline.

It was an exciting weekend of National Cup action that saw a number of teams overcome the odds to book themselves a place in the semi-finals in January.

UCD Marian was home away from home in Greendale as they played host to DCU Saints. DCU was eager to get payback for a disappointing 81-69 loss to Marian last week in the league, which ended their unbeaten run, but it was not to be and UCD ensured the DCU Saints cup dream was over after another accomplished performance from Fran Ryan’s charges.

It was a fact paced, exciting and physical game and DCU were first to lead the scoring in the first quarter. The northside boys produced some shooting displays to put them ahead. An especially start from Eoin Quill helped the Saints to a 17-13 lead going into the second quarter but it was short lived.

American James Crowder was clearly not in form but the Marian boys stepped up and Dan James, who inspired UCD in the second quarter with 13 points, helped turn the tie in their favour at the break. (38-31)

“We have had some good performances which have been better than I expected, but in our worse performances we were poorer than I expected. We need to work to try and find a more consistent middle ground,” said Marian Head Coach Fran Ryan.

“Dan James was absolutely superb,” added Ryan. “He missed a few games through injury but it looks like he is over that now. Dan back is a big boost for us recently. Niall Meany our captain also had a great game. His spirit and his ability to keep playing to our system was another big factor.”

UCD Marian grabbed control of the contest in the third quarter, rebounding at will under the Saints boards and capitalizing on a lot of second chances. DCU were clearly frustrated by their performance, scoreline and what they perceived as unfair calls. This resulted in a number of the Saints players receiving technical fouls for their comments and ill discipline.  

Cathal Finn enjoyed a hugely productive period for UCD, nailing a couple of long shots (7 points) to help the side from Belfield increase their lead to 14 points. (58-44)

In the final quarter UCD punished the Saints from the free throw line by scoring 16 of their 20 free throws to ensure a comfortable win over Vinny O’Keeffe’s side.

UCD Marian now plays Ulster Elks in the semi finals of Ireland’s glamour National Cup competition that stunned the crowd in Belfast with a 72-65 win over their Ulster rivals Belfast Star. It is sure to be an exciting match up and takes place in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght in January.