Sports digest

A round-up of today's other stories in brief

UCC Demons put Neptune to sword

BASKETBALL:UCC Demons won the bragging rights over local rivals Bord Gáis Neptune with a superb 99-64 win after a blistering performance at Neptune Stadium in Cork.

Demons had lost the last derby between these sides by a harrowing two points in a game which required overtime to produce a winner. There was never a chance of that outcome last night as Demons took command after the half-time interval to ensure a victory that opens up the race at the top of the Southern Conference.

“It was a big third quarter from us. That was the key. It was nip and tuck in the first half but we played excellently in the third. This was a really big win for us. It was crucial,” said Demons head coach Paul Kelleher.

The Cork sides will meet again in the cup semi-final next month and Demons will be confident of reaching the final after this display.

Fitzgerald eases into the last four

TENNIS: Greystones player Niall Fitzgerald last night assured himself of at least a semi-final place at the National Indoors Championships at David Lloyd Riverview.

The 21-year-old right-hander, runner-up in 2010, suffered a cruel blow of misfortune in the final when a shoulder injury caused him to retire after only four games in his clash with Georgia’s Lazare Kukhalashvili.

But Fitzgerald, who overcame his younger brother Ciarán in last year’s semi-finals, had no injury problems on this occasion as he saw off the challenge of fellow US-based tennis scholarship student Tommie Murphy. It was plain sailing for Fitzgerald in the opening set as he dropped only one game.

However, in the second set Murphy picked up his game and traded shots comfortably with Fitzgerald until the issue boiled down to a tie-break and Fitzgerald went on to win 6-1 7-6 (7/4) after an hour and 47 minutes.

Wade powers into quarter-finals

DARTS: Third seed James Wade was at his best yesterday as he powered into the quarter-finals of the World Championship with a 4-0 win over Steve Farmer.

Wade, third in the Order of Merit but looking for his first world title, gave a hint of what was to come as he took the first set 3-0.

Farmer claimed a single leg in the second, and had a dart for the set in both the third and fourth, but it was a dominant display from Wade.

Wade said: “It wasn’t as easy as the scoreline suggests. I feel fine and I’ll just keep playing the way I have been.”

Wade now faces Canadian John Wade, the 2008 champion, who beat Kevin Painter 4-2.

Hickey to miss majority of Limerick's league matches

GAA: Limerick senior hurling manager John Allen has revealed he is planning for the majority of next year's National Hurling League without experienced defender Séamus Hickey.

The Murroe-Boher clubman, Young Hurler of the Year in 2007, will be absent for the early months of the year due to study commitments.

Hickey, who won a Fitzgibbon Cup medal with University of Limerick earlier this year, may not feature in any of Limerick’s National League matches but Allen has confirmed the versatile star will be available for the Munster SHC quarter-final against Tipperary on May 27th.

Allen revealed: “Séamus will be in America for a few months. He’ll be back for the end of the league, at the earliest. He’ll miss the most of it, a good share of it.

“Séamus Hickey is a very good player and has been there for the past five years or so so we know how good he is.

“He doesn’t have to prove himself in January, February or March. We want him good in May, June, July, August and possibly September.”

Allen has also revealed that Hickey’s Murroe-Boher clubmate Séan Tobin is facing up to three months on the sidelines after the forward underwent a hip operation recently.

Irish duo take top spots in Mechelen

EQUESTRIAN: Ireland's Denis Lynch scored a comprehensive victory in yesterday's 1.45m two-phase class at Mechelen in Belgium with his immediate victim being compatriot Jessica Kürten, writes Margie McLoone.

Co Antrim-born Kürten, who was sixth to jump, set a target of 27.63 over the second section of the course on the Holstein 10-year-old API Largo, a grey gelding owned by APR Brother Services. Six competitors later, Ireland’s Trevor Coyle failed to proceed to the second phase when picking up 12 faults with his own mare Bijou vd Vijfheide.

Drawn 25th with the Straumanns’ 11-year-old Calvaro Z gelding Night Train, Tipperary native Lynch set out with purpose to claim the €6,500 first prize and home clear in 27.01, he finished ahead of Kürten, with Belgian rider Gregory Wathelet next best when clear in 27.65 with Cybertop.