The Emory men's basketball team closed out its four-game tour of Ireland and Northern Ireland with a 98-49 victory over St. Marys of Castleisland on Wednesday evening.  Head Coach Jason Zimmerman recaps the Eagles' contests overseas.

The Emory travel party is scheduled to arrive back in Atlanta on Friday evening (Aug. 19) at 6:40 p.m.


Game One vs.  Dublin Thunder

Despite the tough travel schedule and getting little sleep,  we competed very well.  We could never pull away but we never trailed by more than four.   I was very impressed by the way we battled with two of our bigs out of action for the night and a third in foul trouble that forced us to play small for most of the first half.  Alex Gulotta put himself in great situations to get shots and our guys found him.  Austin set the pace and everyone followed and increased the pace.  We had great offense balance as five guys reached double figures.  The most impressive aspect for the Eagles was how they fought through difficult situations and found a way to win.  A great first contest to build on for game two.

Game Two vs. Belfast Select

After a day off and a travel day to Belfast, and a clinic for 100 kids when we arrived in the morning, we started the first quarter very tentative.  The start of our second game shows why practice is so important.  It took us a while to get on the same page passing and catching.  We had many uncharacteristic turnovers in the first half and this lead to too many possessions for the Belfast Select team.  Once we got into flow, Alex Gulotta made three consecutive threes to get our feet under us and we took control of the game.  Overall, it was another tightly contested game with a great atmosphere in Belfast.  The great thing about playing games in August is that you can see what you need to improve on.  Defensively we are not close to where we need to be but when time came to win the game we were able to get some stops and get another win.  Once again our balance was impressive as we had six different players make an impact offensively.
 

Game Three vs. Down Select

This game was an event.  It was the first sporting event in the new Downpatrick Sports Facility.  Therefore before the game we put on a clinic for 30 young kids who were very anxious to learn.  Our guys were tremendous.  After the 45 minute clinic, we had a 40-minute warm up and tipped off the game.  We jumped out to a nice lead in the opening four minutes and held a double-digit advantage for most of the game.  That, however, was not the story.  The event was the story.  At halftime they decided that we were going to wait for the dignitaries to come so we had a 45-minute halftime.  Gaelic Football was being played in the gym and we took a number of team pictures during that time.  We had a tough time getting back into rhythm but we still found a way to keep control of the game.  Special thanks to John Dunham who found a way to get Michael Friedberg to the hospital for stitches and back and for us to stay on time for the six-hour bus ride to Kilarney.   Post game for our players was interesting as well as there were speeches by the City Council Chairman, the Mayor of Downpatrick, myself and the US Consulate  who attended our game.  What a great experience for our guys. 

Game 4 vs. St. Mary’s of Castleisland

After a long day of sightseeing around the Ring of Kerry we played at a furious pace. The St Mary's Basketball Club from Castleisland were gracious hosts.  Our energy level and fitness was a big difference in the outcome. Although we didn’t shoot the ball very well from 3 in the first half we did a great job of getting in transition and getting some easy baskets that opened the game up.  We went into the half with a 55-29 lead.  With the goal in the second half being to finish off our trip the right way on the court, everyman contributed and we finished the game with a strong effort to win 98-49.  Everyone managed to get into the scorebook. 

With four games now in the books, we have a lot of work to do before next November.  However, we have enjoyed being able to be on the basketball court together for the last 18 days.  Look forward to getting back to Atlanta.