Belfast Star coach Sean Ingle believes his side are on the right track despite a disappointing 89-79 loss away to Sligo in the All-Ireland Super League on Saturday night.
Star were right in the fight with four minutes to go but then their offence went cold down the stretch and the home side took advantage.
Star’s Christmas got even worse when Ingle confirmed that captain Conor Quinn, who missed Saturday’s game due to a knee injury, will be out for at least another couple of weeks.
Despite the lack of firepower in the latter stages, Ingle insisted that it was their defensive work that he wants to see improve as soon as possible.
“We had a game plan defensively and didn’t stick to that in the first-half and gave up 51 points but, after speaking to the guys at half-time, they were really locked in and did a really good job. That’s the standard we should be expecting to see every week,” commented Ingle, who only became the Star boss last month.
“With the changes the guys have had to deal with, it was always going to be hard to get things the way we want. They are still getting used to how I want them to play but I do think that we have the talent to compete in any game and it will just come down to the fine margins.
“Against Sligo, we didn’t execute well enough in the final four and a half minutes. There were also a couple of calls that went against us and then we ended up chasing the game a little which is never good. We had some easy looks that didn’t drop.
“So, we do need to be better down the stretch and make sure that we get the ball to the right people in those moments. It was the same in the last minute and a half against Demons when the game got away from us.”
Star were only down by three going into the second quarter and when Sligo extended their lead, American Darweshi Hunter came up with two three-pointers to get them to within three again at 41-38.
However, Thomas Paul Child, Jevonnie Scott and Jonathan Brown pushed Sligo clear again and they were 51-41 ahead at the break.
Deondre Jackson, who top scored on 29, made his presence felt in the third quarter as did Aidan Quinn, whose three-pointer with two-and-a-half minutes remaining brought Star to within two at 67-65.
Robert Montgomery, Sligo’s top scorer, was a constant thorn in Star’s side and he made sure his side led 72-67 going into the final 10 minutes.
With five minutes remaining, the sides were locked at 77-all but just as John O’Carroll, Montgomery Scott and Brown maintained their prowess for Sligo, Star’s offence broke down and the chance of a victory on the road fell apart.