Ireland lose to Norway in Dublin
Ireland 72 Norway 79
Ireland’s senior men’s basketball team came up against a strong Norwegian side tonight in the first of three preparation games they will face this weekend at the National Basketball Arena.
It was a tight game throughout with both teams hitting purple patches at different stages. Emmet Donnelly (five points), Justin Naughton (10 points), Mike Bree (10 points) and Dan Callaghan (12 points) all did well for Ireland. Pat Burke struggled with an injury and did not feature much.
Donnie McGrath was impressive on defence and Baker Dunleavey hit two crucial three-pointers in the game.
Ireland took the lead for the first time at the end of the third quarter thanks to a three-pointer by Dunleavey, 53-52. However, Norway started strong in the fourth and took back the lead to 59-53. Four points by Callaghan kept Ireland in touch but on the opposite side Karlsen and Mahnin were doing damage and with three minutes to go Norway led 73-58.
Two three pointers by Bree and seven points from McGrath helped Ireland close the gap, but it was not enough to win the game.
The year’s team is relatively new and Ireland will take many lessons from tonight’s match.
