Limerick Eagles beat Griffith College Éanna 120–90 at the UL Sport Arena on Saturday afternoon, in the club's first game at the arena this season. Aaron Rhooms scored 31 points and made six steals, six Eagles reached double figures, and 120 points is the most the team has scored this season. The Eagles are three from three.
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Éanna came to Limerick off a win over Tralee, and they made the Eagles work in the first quarter. The Eagles scored first and led for the whole of the opening ten minutes, but never by more than seven, and Éanna cut it to 29–27 in the final minute. Then came the moment of the afternoon. With the clock running out, Darragh Horkan let fly from three-quarters of the way down the court and the ball dropped through as the buzzer sounded. The arena rose, and the Eagles led 32–27 at the end of the first.
The second quarter started the same way. Éanna got the gap back to two at 35–33, and the Eagles were only 49–46 in front in the last few minutes of the half. Then the game turned. The Eagles scored the next 15 points without reply, most of them off turnovers and most of them on the break, and Éanna's late basket left it 64–48 at half-time.
The pressure was the story of the game. The Eagles made 18 steals and forced 25 Éanna turnovers, and they gave the ball away only ten times themselves. Rhooms had six steals on his own, Alex Carlisle and Horkan three each, and the stops turned into layups at the other end: the Eagles made 35 of their 48 two-point shots, 73 per cent. Ryan Leonard ran the offence with 12 assists and two turnovers, and the team had 33 assists on 47 baskets.
The Eagles scored the first seven points of the second half to lead 71–48. Éanna then had their best spell of the game. They shot the ball well all afternoon, 55 per cent from the field and nine threes, and they worked the lead back to 13 at 85–72 late in the third quarter. The Eagles answered with seven straight points to close the quarter at 92–72, then eight more without reply at the start of the fourth to go past 100. The lead reached 36 points at 120–84.
The bench saw out the game. Sean Ryan scored five points in six minutes, Kirill Yakovlev and Ronan Cregan got minutes, and Sam Taylor, who came up through the Limerick Lions, made his first appearance for the Eagles wearing number 8.
Rhooms finished with 31 points on 11 of 23 shooting, six of six from the line, six rebounds and six steals in 27 minutes. Aleksandar Kovacevic scored 20 in 19 minutes, with three threes and all five of his two-point shots. Horkan had 17 points, five assists and three steals, and did not miss inside the arc. Toby Christensen scored 14 on seven of nine, with six assists and two blocks. Carlisle had 13 points, seven rebounds, five of them offensive, five assists and three steals. Leonard had ten points, 12 assists and seven rebounds. Daniel Shahab and Fryderyk Klimas scored five each.
The Eagles shot 56 per cent from the field, 47 of 84, and made 12 threes. Nick Hopkins led Éanna with 20 points on nine of 13 shooting, Neil Lynch scored 17 with three threes, Cathal O'Sullivan had 16, and Morgan Taylor finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists. Éanna are one and two.
Thank you to everyone who came out to the UL Sport Arena and made the first home game there a loud one. The Eagles play Limerick Celtics on Friday 23 October at 7.30pm, also at the UL Sport Arena, and are back at home against Sligo All-Stars on Sunday 25 October at 3pm. Tickets for the Sligo game are on sale now.
Thank you to Phil Flannery's Bar, our game sponsor for Saturday's win over Éanna. Support the businesses that support the Eagles.
Score by quarter
| Team | Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Limerick Eagles | 32 | 32 | 28 | 28 | 120 |
| Griffith College Éanna | 27 | 21 | 24 | 18 | 90 |
Eagles box score
| Player | Min | Pts | Reb | Ast | Stl | 3PM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Rhooms | 27 | 31 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 3 |
| Aleksandar Kovacevic | 19 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| Darragh Horkan | 25 | 17 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 3 |
| Toby Christensen | 30 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Alex Carlisle | 29 | 13 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 0 |
| Ryan Leonard | 28 | 10 | 7 | 12 | 1 | 1 |
| Daniel Shahab | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Fryderyk Klimas | 14 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Sean Ryan | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kirill Yakovlev | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Ronan Cregan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sam Taylor | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Team totals: 35 of 48 from two, 12 of 36 from three, 14 of 18 free throws, 36 rebounds (11 offensive), 33 assists, 18 steals, 3 blocks, 10 turnovers. Éanna: 27 of 44 from two, 9 of 22 from three, 9 of 17 free throws, 33 rebounds, 24 assists, 5 steals, 25 turnovers. Final score: Limerick Eagles 120–90 Griffith College Éanna.
Sources: Official game statistics, Domino's Men's Super League 2026-27, Round 3.
