Aug 4
Cork Open U20
Sat Sept 4 Gurranabraher
10 am MAREE v Éanna
noon MAREE v Demons
2pm MAREE v Ballincollig
16:15 ?Semi
Cork Open U20
Sat Sept 4 Gurranabraher
10 am MAREE v Éanna
noon MAREE v Demons
2pm MAREE v Ballincollig
16:15 ?Semi
Maree Under 20 Men win 2010 National Cup
On Saturday night January 30th in the National Basketball Arena Tallaght, Maree won the Under 20 Men’s National Cup, overcoming defending champions UCD-Marian 70 – 57. Both sets of supporters were on the edge of their seats for most of the battle, but it was the Galway contingent that hit the N6 the happier, after a tough, tense encounter. Maree’s win adds to the 2009 Under 18 Men’s win and to the 2008 Under 18 Men’s and Women’s double. Captain David Hansberry lifted the Cup and Liam Conroy, the game’s high scorer with 21 points, took the MVP award.
Maree’s route to the final started with a successful warm-up defence of the Cork Under 20 Open Tournament in September, when they won all five games. National Cup wins followed, over Queen’s, then limerick Lakers, then Killester. UCD-Marian, who had beaten Maree by an agonising one point in the 2009 decider, reached this year’s final through defeats of St Vincent’s, Éanna and Belfast Star. The stage was set for a tough re-match.
The first quarter was tense, nervous and physical. UCD-Marian jumped into a 5-0 lead, and were controlling the rebounds at both ends of the court. In addition, they were fast-breaking for fun, and Maree were hanging on. UCD-Marian confounded expectations by playing a man-to-man defense, and it was clear that Maree’s trade-mark 3-2 defense was a surprise to the Dubliners, though they were transitioning fast enough to prevent it bothering them initially. Our very own Cathal Finn hit 6 for UCD and was their main threat, finishing the game with 16 points. Eventually, after a series of rushed shots, Maree clawed their way onto the score-board through a Colm O’Hagan lay-up. A free throw from Liam Conroy was followed by an O’Hagan three after a huge Ciarán Harte rebound, and the mini-crisis was over. The 3-2 defense kicked in, with George Rahmani settling to the task of containing Daniel James in particular. At the end of the first quarter, Maree had recovered, a little improbably, to share the spoils 11 – 11, with O’Hagan good for 7 and David Hansberry for 3.
In the second quarter, Maree’s offense featured three threes, two from Conroy and one from Ken Hansberry. UCD-Marian were still marginally the better rebounding team, and Maree’s help-and-recover defense was coughing up some open outside shots, through back-door cuts and unsuccessful double-teams. But gradually, Maree were settling to the task. Con Crowley was giving the James twins a torrid time, and he set the tone for the Maree defense for the rest of the game – UCD would get no more cheap scores, and every drive and shot would be contested. A sweet exchange of passes between the Hansberry brothers also produced a good inside basket, and showed the Maree players that despite their height advantage, UCD could be taken on in the paint. A tense half ended with Maree shading it 29 – 28. Encouragingly, no Maree player was on more than two fouls, whereas the Dubliners had two players on three apiece.
In the third quarter, the Hansberry brothers went to work, and David and Kenneth shared Maree’s first 11 points after the break. On top of this, ultra-aggressive Maree defense began to shut down the UCD-Marian attack, to the point that the Dubliners were fighting the shot-clock. It was an awesome display of team defense. UCD-Marian were limited to just 8 points. Meanwhile, the Maree offense, with Conroy pulling the strings, looked calm and confident. With one quarter to go, Maree had grabbed a 46 - 36 advantage. Unless the Dubliners could speed up their offense, and get good outside looks at the basket, they were in trouble. In the last quarter, Maree sealed the deal with some composure. Their defense was unrelenting. A UCD-Marian attempt at a full-court press left Maree un-fazed. UCD-Marian broke. With 4 minutes to go, the lead was 11, and UCD-Marian were reduced to putting Maree on the free throw line - 9 of their last 11 points came from there. At the final buzzer, Maree took the cup on a 70 – 57 scoreline, to the delight of the travelling support and fans; Maree are the 2010 Under 20 Men’s National cup champions.
For Ken Hansberry, Ciaran Harte and Colm O’Hagan, this was their second national title in less than a week. On Tuesday, they won the Under 19A All-Ireland Schools Cup with Calasanctius College Oranmore. For Con Crowley, George Rahmani, Colm O’Hagan and Liam Conroy, this was their third National Cup title, adding to two Under 18 wins. For Liam Conroy, the MVP award adds to his Under 18 MVP last year. Jack Conroy and Cathal Finn share an unusual record, in that each has two National Cup Under 20 Silvers, one each with UCD-Marian and with Maree. The Maree team featured two sets of brothers, David and Kenneth Hansberry and Conor and Colm O’Hagan. Earlier in the evening, Oranmore’s Claire Rockall picked up the Women’s Under 20 title and MVP award, with Glanmire of Cork.
Team; Con Crowley (7), Colm O’Hagan (11), Ciarán Harte, Céimin Burke, Conor O’Hagan, George Rahmani, Michael Rockall, Andrew Brennan, Conor Graham, Dáire Greene, David Hansberry (13), Liam Conroy (21), Kenneth Hansberry (16).
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Maree basketballers beat Killester, into Under 20 National Cup final
Maree are into their second successive Under 20 Men’s National Cup final, following a clinical 68 – 41 semi-final win over Killester, in the famous Neptune Stadium Cork, on Saturday January 16th. Liam Conroy was the game’s high scorer with 17, while Killester’s Gary Kane hit 12. Maree’s opponents in the final in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on Saturday January 30th will be defending champions UCD-Marian, who took the title by a single point in last season’s decider. The re-match promises to be a thriller.
Killester jumped into a 5 - 0 first quarter lead, showing some quick transition offense, before Maree settled to the task of dismantling the Dubliners’ zone defense. They began to pass crisply through Conroy at the point, reversed the ball well and waited for whatever shot the zone gave them. Con Crowley got Maree’s first score from the foul line, and followed this up with a three. Fast breaks from Colm O’Hagan and George Rahmani followed, before threes from Crowley, Rahmani and Conroy pushed the Maree lead out further. It was looking ominous for Killester when the early Maree went to 12, but Gary Kane hit two threes and at the end of the first period, they were still in the game, though down 22 – 16.
In the second period, Killester continued to play a tight zone to counter the threat posed by Maree’s David Hansberry inside. The downside for the Dubliners was that they gave outside Maree shooting opportunities, few of which went unspotted by Conroy, who sprayed scoring passes to great effect. In addition, Maree’s 3 – 2 defense began to cause turnovers, with the lightning-fast Crowley and Colm O’Hagan pouncing for fast break baskets. Gradually, Maree upped the pressure and increased their lead. Captain David Hansberry ran things in the paint at both ends of the floor and Michael Rockall chipped in with a three, before two more baskets from Conroy ended the half with Maree ahead 38 – 22. Killester’s cause had not been helped by point guard Eric Westbrooks picking up his fourth foul.
It was more of the same in the third period. Conroy hit another 7, David Hansberry was good for 4 and the Ken Hansberry for 2, Crowley hit a three and an O’Hagan bucket – his eleventh point - saw the period end with an unassailable 56 – 31 Maree lead. The final period saw Crowley grab two more baskets before he fouled out to end a 14-point performance. Conor Graham and Céimin Burke put in shifts and controlled the boards. A long Dáire Greene jumper kept the score-board moving, and Maree’s scoring was rounded off by threes from Ciarán Harte and Conor O’Hagan. The game ended Maree 68, Killester 41.
Team; Con Crowley (14), Colm O’Hagan (11), Ciarán Harte (3), Céimin Burke, Conor O’Hagan (3), George Rahmani (5), Liam Conroy (17), Michael Rockall (3), Conor Graham, David Hansberry, Dáire Greene, Kenneth Hansberry (3), Andrew Brennan.
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Maree overpower Limerick Lakers, into U20 Men’s Nat Cup Semi
Maree Under 20 Men joined their Under 18 club-mates in the National Cup Semi-finals, following a 90 – 58 defeat of Limerick Lakers in Oranmore on Wednesday December 23rd. Maree won all four quarters, with Liam Conroy hitting a game-high 27 points, and Ken Hansberry good for 20. For the Lakers, Reidy hit 19.
Maree started in a high-intensity 3 – 2 defense, with George Rahmani, Con Crowley and Colm O'Hagan exerting pressure at the arc, and limited Limerick to 11 first-quarter points, while hitting 19 themselves. Colm O’Hagan grabbed the first two baskets, with Conroy then shooting 6 and the impressive Ken Hansberry coming off the bench to hit 7. Captain David Hansberry played aggressive unselfish help defense, and Con Crowley and Colm O’Hagan worked hard to shut down Reidy and Dawson. Despite the lead, Maree weren’t fully firing in offense, and showed signs of rustiness, not having played for some time, given the Queen’s walkover in the previous round. Lakers had played two Cup games in the interim and were sharp. In the second period, Maree went 20 up, including baskets from Conor Graham and Céimin Burke, only to see that lead cut to 13 at the half, with Lakers running good fast breaks off unfinished Maree transitions. The half-time lead was 38 – 25.
Con Crowley hit a big three to start the third, David Hansberry chipped in with 4 points, and Mike Rockall contributed 2. Conroy was good for 9 more and was pulling the strings at point, taking Maree to a 62 – 41 lead with one quarter to go. The home team had switched to zone, and this proved effective, with Ciaran Harte and Conor O’Hagan contributing good shifts. The gap widened throughout the period, and the home team took the tie 90 – 58.
Maree will face Killester of Dublin in the Under 20 National Cup semi-final in Neptune Stadium Cork, on Saturday Jan 16th. Maree will also contest their Under 18 semi at the same venue, against St Mary’s Castleisland, earlier that day.
Maree Under 20s; Con Crowley (11), Colm O’Hagan (10), George Rahmani (6), Conor O’Hagan, Michael Rockall (4), Céimin Burke (2), Conor Graham (3), David Hansberry (captain, 5), Kenneth Hansberry (20), Liam Conroy (27), Ciarán Harte (2), Dáire Greene (inj), Andrew Brennan (dnp).
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Maree Men Under 20s get walkover in U20 National Cup
Fri Oct 16 '09
Maree U20s were due to play Queen's in the National Cup on Saturday October 24th. Unfortunately, the Northerners have pulled out. Maree now go through to the Quarter-Finals, where the opposition will be the winners of the Neptune / Limerick Lakers tie. The Quarter-finals are due to be played by the end of the first week in December.
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Maree Under 20 Boys start season off with big Cork tournament win
On Saturday 5th, in the famous Gurranabraher Hall in Cork, Maree Under 20 Boys retained the title first won by them in 2008. They brought the cup down; they brought the cup back! The pool game results were; Maree 38 St Brendan’s 24, Maree 76 Blue Demons 35, Maree 67 Neptune 35. The semi-final pitted Maree against Ballincollig, who had edged out Moycullen, in the other pool, on points difference. Maree took that semi 64 - 41, to face Demons in the final. Maree prevailed yet again, winning 61 – 46, to kick-start the season in some style.
Team; David Hansberry (12), Conor Graham (2), Dáire Greene, Céimin Burke, Liam Conroy (29, 6 threes), Con Crowley (3), Colm O’Hagan (4), Ken Hansberry (8), Ciaran Harte (3), Tomas Mitkus.
On Saturday night January 30th in the National Basketball Arena Tallaght, Maree won the Under 20 Men’s National Cup, overcoming defending champions UCD-Marian 70 – 57. Both sets of supporters were on the edge of their seats for most of the battle, but it was the Galway contingent that hit the N6 the happier, after a tough, tense encounter. Maree’s win adds to the 2009 Under 18 Men’s win and to the 2008 Under 18 Men’s and Women’s double. Captain David Hansberry lifted the Cup and Liam Conroy, the game’s high scorer with 21 points, took the MVP award.
Maree’s route to the final started with a successful warm-up defence of the Cork Under 20 Open Tournament in September, when they won all five games. National Cup wins followed, over Queen’s, then limerick Lakers, then Killester. UCD-Marian, who had beaten Maree by an agonising one point in the 2009 decider, reached this year’s final through defeats of St Vincent’s, Éanna and Belfast Star. The stage was set for a tough re-match.
The first quarter was tense, nervous and physical. UCD-Marian jumped into a 5-0 lead, and were controlling the rebounds at both ends of the court. In addition, they were fast-breaking for fun, and Maree were hanging on. UCD-Marian confounded expectations by playing a man-to-man defense, and it was clear that Maree’s trade-mark 3-2 defense was a surprise to the Dubliners, though they were transitioning fast enough to prevent it bothering them initially. Our very own Cathal Finn hit 6 for UCD and was their main threat, finishing the game with 16 points. Eventually, after a series of rushed shots, Maree clawed their way onto the score-board through a Colm O’Hagan lay-up. A free throw from Liam Conroy was followed by an O’Hagan three after a huge Ciarán Harte rebound, and the mini-crisis was over. The 3-2 defense kicked in, with George Rahmani settling to the task of containing Daniel James in particular. At the end of the first quarter, Maree had recovered, a little improbably, to share the spoils 11 – 11, with O’Hagan good for 7 and David Hansberry for 3.
In the second quarter, Maree’s offense featured three threes, two from Conroy and one from Ken Hansberry. UCD-Marian were still marginally the better rebounding team, and Maree’s help-and-recover defense was coughing up some open outside shots, through back-door cuts and unsuccessful double-teams. But gradually, Maree were settling to the task. Con Crowley was giving the James twins a torrid time, and he set the tone for the Maree defense for the rest of the game – UCD would get no more cheap scores, and every drive and shot would be contested. A sweet exchange of passes between the Hansberry brothers also produced a good inside basket, and showed the Maree players that despite their height advantage, UCD could be taken on in the paint. A tense half ended with Maree shading it 29 – 28. Encouragingly, no Maree player was on more than two fouls, whereas the Dubliners had two players on three apiece.
In the third quarter, the Hansberry brothers went to work, and David and Kenneth shared Maree’s first 11 points after the break. On top of this, ultra-aggressive Maree defense began to shut down the UCD-Marian attack, to the point that the Dubliners were fighting the shot-clock. It was an awesome display of team defense. UCD-Marian were limited to just 8 points. Meanwhile, the Maree offense, with Conroy pulling the strings, looked calm and confident. With one quarter to go, Maree had grabbed a 46 - 36 advantage. Unless the Dubliners could speed up their offense, and get good outside looks at the basket, they were in trouble. In the last quarter, Maree sealed the deal with some composure. Their defense was unrelenting. A UCD-Marian attempt at a full-court press left Maree un-fazed. UCD-Marian broke. With 4 minutes to go, the lead was 11, and UCD-Marian were reduced to putting Maree on the free throw line - 9 of their last 11 points came from there. At the final buzzer, Maree took the cup on a 70 – 57 scoreline, to the delight of the travelling support and fans; Maree are the 2010 Under 20 Men’s National cup champions.
For Ken Hansberry, Ciaran Harte and Colm O’Hagan, this was their second national title in less than a week. On Tuesday, they won the Under 19A All-Ireland Schools Cup with Calasanctius College Oranmore. For Con Crowley, George Rahmani, Colm O’Hagan and Liam Conroy, this was their third National Cup title, adding to two Under 18 wins. For Liam Conroy, the MVP award adds to his Under 18 MVP last year. Jack Conroy and Cathal Finn share an unusual record, in that each has two National Cup Under 20 Silvers, one each with UCD-Marian and with Maree. The Maree team featured two sets of brothers, David and Kenneth Hansberry and Conor and Colm O’Hagan. Earlier in the evening, Oranmore’s Claire Rockall picked up the Women’s Under 20 title and MVP award, with Glanmire of Cork.
Team; Con Crowley (7), Colm O’Hagan (11), Ciarán Harte, Céimin Burke, Conor O’Hagan, George Rahmani, Michael Rockall, Andrew Brennan, Conor Graham, Dáire Greene, David Hansberry (13), Liam Conroy (21), Kenneth Hansberry (16).
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Maree basketballers beat Killester, into Under 20 National Cup final
Maree are into their second successive Under 20 Men’s National Cup final, following a clinical 68 – 41 semi-final win over Killester, in the famous Neptune Stadium Cork, on Saturday January 16th. Liam Conroy was the game’s high scorer with 17, while Killester’s Gary Kane hit 12. Maree’s opponents in the final in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght on Saturday January 30th will be defending champions UCD-Marian, who took the title by a single point in last season’s decider. The re-match promises to be a thriller.
Killester jumped into a 5 - 0 first quarter lead, showing some quick transition offense, before Maree settled to the task of dismantling the Dubliners’ zone defense. They began to pass crisply through Conroy at the point, reversed the ball well and waited for whatever shot the zone gave them. Con Crowley got Maree’s first score from the foul line, and followed this up with a three. Fast breaks from Colm O’Hagan and George Rahmani followed, before threes from Crowley, Rahmani and Conroy pushed the Maree lead out further. It was looking ominous for Killester when the early Maree went to 12, but Gary Kane hit two threes and at the end of the first period, they were still in the game, though down 22 – 16.
In the second period, Killester continued to play a tight zone to counter the threat posed by Maree’s David Hansberry inside. The downside for the Dubliners was that they gave outside Maree shooting opportunities, few of which went unspotted by Conroy, who sprayed scoring passes to great effect. In addition, Maree’s 3 – 2 defense began to cause turnovers, with the lightning-fast Crowley and Colm O’Hagan pouncing for fast break baskets. Gradually, Maree upped the pressure and increased their lead. Captain David Hansberry ran things in the paint at both ends of the floor and Michael Rockall chipped in with a three, before two more baskets from Conroy ended the half with Maree ahead 38 – 22. Killester’s cause had not been helped by point guard Eric Westbrooks picking up his fourth foul.
It was more of the same in the third period. Conroy hit another 7, David Hansberry was good for 4 and the Ken Hansberry for 2, Crowley hit a three and an O’Hagan bucket – his eleventh point - saw the period end with an unassailable 56 – 31 Maree lead. The final period saw Crowley grab two more baskets before he fouled out to end a 14-point performance. Conor Graham and Céimin Burke put in shifts and controlled the boards. A long Dáire Greene jumper kept the score-board moving, and Maree’s scoring was rounded off by threes from Ciarán Harte and Conor O’Hagan. The game ended Maree 68, Killester 41.
Team; Con Crowley (14), Colm O’Hagan (11), Ciarán Harte (3), Céimin Burke, Conor O’Hagan (3), George Rahmani (5), Liam Conroy (17), Michael Rockall (3), Conor Graham, David Hansberry, Dáire Greene, Kenneth Hansberry (3), Andrew Brennan.
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Maree overpower Limerick Lakers, into U20 Men’s Nat Cup Semi
Maree Under 20 Men joined their Under 18 club-mates in the National Cup Semi-finals, following a 90 – 58 defeat of Limerick Lakers in Oranmore on Wednesday December 23rd. Maree won all four quarters, with Liam Conroy hitting a game-high 27 points, and Ken Hansberry good for 20. For the Lakers, Reidy hit 19.
Maree started in a high-intensity 3 – 2 defense, with George Rahmani, Con Crowley and Colm O'Hagan exerting pressure at the arc, and limited Limerick to 11 first-quarter points, while hitting 19 themselves. Colm O’Hagan grabbed the first two baskets, with Conroy then shooting 6 and the impressive Ken Hansberry coming off the bench to hit 7. Captain David Hansberry played aggressive unselfish help defense, and Con Crowley and Colm O’Hagan worked hard to shut down Reidy and Dawson. Despite the lead, Maree weren’t fully firing in offense, and showed signs of rustiness, not having played for some time, given the Queen’s walkover in the previous round. Lakers had played two Cup games in the interim and were sharp. In the second period, Maree went 20 up, including baskets from Conor Graham and Céimin Burke, only to see that lead cut to 13 at the half, with Lakers running good fast breaks off unfinished Maree transitions. The half-time lead was 38 – 25.
Con Crowley hit a big three to start the third, David Hansberry chipped in with 4 points, and Mike Rockall contributed 2. Conroy was good for 9 more and was pulling the strings at point, taking Maree to a 62 – 41 lead with one quarter to go. The home team had switched to zone, and this proved effective, with Ciaran Harte and Conor O’Hagan contributing good shifts. The gap widened throughout the period, and the home team took the tie 90 – 58.
Maree will face Killester of Dublin in the Under 20 National Cup semi-final in Neptune Stadium Cork, on Saturday Jan 16th. Maree will also contest their Under 18 semi at the same venue, against St Mary’s Castleisland, earlier that day.
Maree Under 20s; Con Crowley (11), Colm O’Hagan (10), George Rahmani (6), Conor O’Hagan, Michael Rockall (4), Céimin Burke (2), Conor Graham (3), David Hansberry (captain, 5), Kenneth Hansberry (20), Liam Conroy (27), Ciarán Harte (2), Dáire Greene (inj), Andrew Brennan (dnp).
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Maree Men Under 20s get walkover in U20 National Cup
Fri Oct 16 '09
Maree U20s were due to play Queen's in the National Cup on Saturday October 24th. Unfortunately, the Northerners have pulled out. Maree now go through to the Quarter-Finals, where the opposition will be the winners of the Neptune / Limerick Lakers tie. The Quarter-finals are due to be played by the end of the first week in December.
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Maree Under 20 Boys start season off with big Cork tournament win
On Saturday 5th, in the famous Gurranabraher Hall in Cork, Maree Under 20 Boys retained the title first won by them in 2008. They brought the cup down; they brought the cup back! The pool game results were; Maree 38 St Brendan’s 24, Maree 76 Blue Demons 35, Maree 67 Neptune 35. The semi-final pitted Maree against Ballincollig, who had edged out Moycullen, in the other pool, on points difference. Maree took that semi 64 - 41, to face Demons in the final. Maree prevailed yet again, winning 61 – 46, to kick-start the season in some style.
Team; David Hansberry (12), Conor Graham (2), Dáire Greene, Céimin Burke, Liam Conroy (29, 6 threes), Con Crowley (3), Colm O’Hagan (4), Ken Hansberry (8), Ciaran Harte (3), Tomas Mitkus.