On the weekend of the 19th to the 21st of September, a Women’s and Men’s team from Trinity Basketball made the trip to Scotland to participate in the Edinburgh Invitational Tournament alongside the University of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow and UCD. The tournament featured a Round-Robin format, where each team faced each other once, with the top two performing teams qualifying for the final on Sunday afternoon.
Trinity Men 82-62 UCD
The first game of the tournament saw Trinity Men’s team face off against local rivals UCD at an early 9 am tip-off on Saturday morning. It was a back-and-forth affair in the first half with both sides firing on all cylinders. Thomas McCourt and Jens Örnehed led the way for Trinity with multiple 3-point shots.
Transition defence and rebounding were significant issues, as emphasised by Trinity’s coach Eric Brandt at the half. Thanks to some tactical adjustments implemented by Brandt, there was a completely dominant turnaround in the second half by Trinity College. UCD’s fast-paced offensive system was stifled significantly, with only 21 points being conceded in the final two quarters. Trinity’s smothering second-half defence created momentum for the team to pull away in the last quarter, scoring 27 points in the final quarter. In their Trinity debuts, the international duo of Samuel Rex and Jens Örnehed led the way offensively with a combined 47 points between the pair.
Trinity Women 57-66 University of Edinburgh
Trinity Women’s team began their tournament with a difficult challenge, squaring off against the eventual tournament winners, the University of Edinburgh (EUBC). The tournament hosts started off the game on fire, knocking down shot after shot, forcing Trinity into taking early timeouts. At the half, EUBC led by a staggering 25 points. During the break, Coach Riona Grealy implemented a new defensive strategy, which, in turn, greatly boosted energy and intensity from the team. Grealy introduced a full-court press against the Scottish side to force EUBC to play at an uncomfortable rhythm. This resulted in Trinity forcing a huge number of turnovers and the momentum swinging in Trinity’s favour. Avelina Moley Stoltz delivered a heroic performance for Trinity, scoring 32 points against one of the best college teams in the United Kingdom. Her pinpoint 3-point shooting and incredible speed proved to be a huge task to handle. Despite trailing by as much as 30 points, Trinity battled back and cut the lead down to as little as 6 points. A second-half performance to be extremely proud of.
Trinity Men 88-71 University of Edinburgh
The first half of Trinity Men’s game against EUBC was an extremely even affair. Constant lead changes and momentum swings capped off a very exciting first half of basketball. Thomas McCourt would come up huge for Trinity, with his 16 points and three clutch 3-pointers alongside Daniel O’Toole, who provided massive contributions on both ends of the floor. However, it was Samuel Rex who was the difference maker for Trinity, as the new American Postgraduate student exploded for 36 points, showcasing an impressive, versatile scoring ability, knocking down shots from the 3-point range, the mid-range and inside the paint. Trinity’s 17-point win against EUBC would ensure a spot in Sunday’s final with one game left to spare in the group.
Trinity Women 38-70 UCD
It was a lacklustre performance from Trinity Women’s team, riddled with injuries and costly turnovers in their second game against UCD. There were a few bright spots in the game, with Emma Mullins leading the way with 10 points in the first half and Avelina Moley Stoltz chipping in with 14 points. However, UCD and their vast veteran experience were too much to handle for Trinity, as the game slipped out of the team’s hands very early on. The loss meant that the team would not be able to qualify for the tournament’s final.
Trinity Women 92-33 University of Edinburgh II
Despite the early 9.30 am tip-off on Sunday morning and multiple absences, Trinity Women’s team put up an all-around memorable performance against EUBC’s 2nd team. A captivating pregame speech from Coach Grealy would inspire the girls to an enthralling 19-3 start. The team would play their best basketball to date with a beautiful offensive system centred around passing and cutting into open space. Avelina Moley Stoltz would shine again with a second 32-point performance as she could not miss from deep, hitting 6 3-pointers. However, it was an overall fantastic team performance which saw Eleanor Fitzsimons chip in 23 points and Aoibhin Dunne, Bree Shelley and Aisling Courtney all reaching double-figures in scoring. For the Trinity Women, it was a splendid way to end the tournament, as now Trinity will begin to prepare their defence of their Women’s D1 League Title in October.
Trinity Men 70-76 University of Glasgow
In their last game of the group stage, Trinity would take on the University of Glasgow (GUBC). A strong first half performance highlighted with 3-pointers and fast ball movement, the Trinity squad saw their lead balloon to 14 points at the half. With the final already guaranteed, Trinity let their foot off the pedal in the second half as GUBC erased the double-digit lead rapidly, nailing 7 3-pointers in the process. Samuel Rex led the way in scoring again with 30 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome GUBC’s hot shooting second-half performance.
Trinity Men 83-93 University of Glasgow
Just a few hours after facing off in the group stage, Trinity and Glasgow would encounter each other again in the final of the Edinburgh Invitational Tournament Final. An exhilarating offensive start from both teams resulted in a high-scoring affair in the first half as both teams couldn’t seem to miss. Jens Örnehed and Daniel O’Toole both started strong for Trinity, hitting multiple jump shots and making strong drives to the basket. Rebounding was the key issue throughout the game, as TCD would give up countless second-chance opportunities, of which GUBC continuously took advantage of. Thomas McCourt would help keep Trinity afloat with some vital 3-point shots as TCD entered the final quarter only down 1. Foul trouble plagued Trinity throughout the final quarter as Örnehed fouled out early in the quarter, putting a severe amount of pressure on an already extremely fatigued squad. Samuel Rex continued to be a scoring machine for the Dublin side, with an impressive 28-point performance in the final, but it would simply not be enough. Glasgow, with poised play down the stretch, would pull away in the final quarter and win the inaugural Edinburgh Invitational Tournament.
The weekend proved to be a very successful trip for Trinity Basketball, as all members embarked on their first overseas trip for the club. Despite some heartbreaking losses, both teams will enter the season with some improved chemistry and experience. The college league schedule will be released at the end of September, with both teams debuting officially in the league on the week starting October 6th. An exciting season ahead for Trinity Basketball!