Wolves push last year’s runners-up in Mid Ulster BIDL opener

4 hours ago

2 min read

BC Wolves 60–82 UCD Marian

Our first BIDL home game in Mid Ulster ended in defeat, but there was plenty to take from Saturday’s meeting with UCD Marian at Cookstown Leisure Centre.

Hosting last year’s runners-up was always going to be a tough introduction. We were also missing two starters, Richard Berzins and James McGregor, whose experience would have been particularly valuable in a game like this. It meant others had to take on more responsibility, and some of our younger players gave us real reasons to be encouraged.

UCD settled into the game quicker, taking a 21–10 lead after the opening quarter. Wolves found more rhythm in the second, scoring 18 points to the visitors’ 19, but went into half-time trailing 40–28.

The third quarter was our best spell. Wolves outscored UCD 19–12, bringing the gap down to just five points at 52–47 heading into the final period. Against opposition of this standard, getting ourselves back into that position took a big effort and gave the home supporters a proper contest to enjoy.

Unfortunately, we couldn’t carry that through to the finish. UCD pulled away in the fourth, scoring 30 points to our 13 and securing an 82–60 win. A difficult last quarter for us, especially after the work that had gone into closing the gap.

Klaudijus Kasparavicius led our scoring with 12 points, followed by Adam Czuprak with 11. Scott McIlwaine added nine, Pijus Januskevicius and Connor Mason finished with eight each, and Adomas Vaitkaitis contributed seven.

The contribution from our younger players was one of the most pleasing parts of the afternoon. Scott, Pijus and Adomas all took on meaningful minutes and helped keep us in the contest. They stepped up when needed and gave everything they had.

We wanted to start with a win, of course, but there was still something special about seeing this game happen here in Mid Ulster. There was a lot of work behind getting the team onto that court, and we’re grateful to everyone who played a part.

A big thank you to our volunteers, spectators, table officials and everyone who stepped in to help before, during and after the game. Whether you helped set up, took on a job on the day or came along to support the boys, you helped make our first BIDL home game possible.

Thank you to UCD Marian for the game, and congratulations on the win. We have plenty to work on, and a third-quarter performance to build on as we prepare for the next one.

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