Eire Club Captures Garvey Park Title By Kevin Devlin On Friday evening, August 26, under beautiful blue skies, at the William H. Garvey Park basketball courts in Dorchester, the Eire Club defeated the Monahan Club, 62-51, to capture the Garvey Park men’s hoop league championship. Eire Club point guard Bobby Griffin (twenty-five points/two treys/two steals) who scored two timely three-pointers and was all over the court defensively, was SBOL’s MVP. Overall, the combination of good shots and solid defense, versus turnovers and the inability to score crucial baskets, paved the way for an Eire Club victory. The Eire Club went on an 8-0 run and then a 9-4 run during the opening minutes of the game to take a 17-4 lead. The Monahan Club responded with a 7-0 run of their own to cut the deficit, but a key basket by Adam Donovan (last season’s MVP) stopped the bleeding. Chris Potts (seven pts.) then scored under the hoop and was fouled and made the free throw. Griffin scored and Scotty Lewis (two treys) hit a threepointer from the wing. Now leading 27-14, the Eire Club continued to play smart ball and realized a 34-19 lead at the half. In the second half, the Monahan Club continued to miss easy opportunities. The ball just wasn’t falling for them. Relying on their three-point shooting prowess, they eventually cut the deficit to nine, 60-51. But it was too little too late. Rounding out the scoring for the Eire Club, sixty-one year old Tom Cavanaugh (no, that’s not a misprint) scored eight points, played great defense and hauled down a handful of rebounds. He’s the oldest player to ever win the Garvey title. Adam Donovan (ten pts.) and Sean Cavanaugh (four pts.) also played great defense and were tough off the glass. For the Monahan Club, Matt Smith netted seventeen points. Mike Flaherty (two treys) scored fifteen, while Griff McLoughlin and Mark Mazza had ten and four points apiece respectively. The Garvey league was established over twenty years ago in memory of local resident, Dick Duchaney, who died before his time. The league commissioner, Mile Hanlon, with the help of his trusted assistant, Paul Duffy (who is also the Eire Club coach), has run a great league throughout the years. The league is comprised of players from the Dorchester area and neighboring locales. Commissioner Hanlon enjoyed this year’s championship game under sunny skies. “The Eire Club came out strong early,” he said. “The Monahan Club had to play catch-up for the remainder of the game but couldn’t hit some easy shots. The Eire Club played a good game defensively… made key baskets… and as a result didn’t allow the Monahan Club back into the game. “It was another great summer at the park,” he added. “Sure was hot but everyone played hard and the guys enjoyed the games.”
Pictured is the 2016 Garvey Park hoop league finalists, the Monahan Club.
The players are: Brian Monahan, Mark Mazza, Mike Flaherty, Drew McInnis,
Matt Smith, Griff McLoughlin, and Kevin Bielecki.
