Belfast Star coach Sean Ingle says the return of American Deondre Jackson to the club can give them a vital spark as they head into the second half of the All-Ireland Superleague season.

Star had mixed fortunes in Cork last weekend when they defeated Neptune on Saturday night, 109-96 but then after a tight struggle went down 104-98 to Demons on Sunday.

They now go to Sligo this Saturday hoping to take their record to six wins and five defeats and maintain their place in the top eight play-off places.

Jackson scored 21 and 20 points in Cork having returned to the club after a short spell in Azerbaijan and immediately he proved why it was the right decision to cut American Maurice Jones.

Ingle, who only joined the club three weeks ago, believes there is much more to come from his group of players – including sharp-shooting Jackson, who was outstanding for Star last season.

“Dre’s a fantastic player. He just missed out on the Player of the Year award last year. He adds so much depth and scoring ability and when everyone on the court is on the same page then I know we will be very dangerous offensively,” said Ingle.

“Dre can be very explosive and we know that he can go on a run and score 30 points. He makes the right reads at the right time and against Neptune when they were threatening to come back at us he came up with two big threes. And I have to say that Darweshi (Hunter) has been great for us at both ends of the court.

“I just feel that we need a bit more consistency offensively and we need to lock in defensively what is needed from our scouting reports. When everyone is sticking to their roles then we can play some very good basketball and you saw that against Neptune because we had six players in double figures. 

“I just feel that overall we can be optimistic and that the longer we are together the better we will be and we can compete in the playoffs.”

Weighing up the victory over Neptune and defeat to Demons, Dubliner Ingle added: “I felt against Neptune we got off to a slow start but credit to the lads because they showed a lot of composure and a conscious effort defensively which made a difference. We did a very good job in the third quarter and got a good win. 

“Against Demons, I felt we had a game plan and didn’t execute defensively the way we wanted to. Also, they scored 34 free throws and we scored 12 which is a big discrepancy so we do have things to work on.”

Against Demons, Star looked as if they could enjoy back-to-back victories with Max Cooper (27 points and seven rebounds), Darweshi Hunter (22pts) and Jackson (20pts) all showing their class. Trailing 30-27 after the first quarter they were only 52-51 down at half-time.

Blake Murphy, James Hannigan and Patrick Robinson all hit baskets without reply to give the Demons a 77-72 lead going into the final quarter.

Two free throws from Robinson at the start of the fourth quarter extended the lead but just when it seemed Demons may pull away, American Hunter came up with the firepower to bring Star back to within a point with five minutes remaining.

There was little between the sides and with two and half minutes remaining Star tied the game at 94-all after a fine lay-up from captain Conor Quinn. But Robinson and Elijah Tillman pushed Demons four points clear and as Star’s offence went a little cold, Robinson and Kyle Hosford nailed their free throws to seal the victory.

On Saturday evening, Star were 28-21 down after the first quarter against Neptune but then Jackson, Hunter and Cooper tortured the Cork men to help Star win the second quarter 30-13.

Cooper continued to be a force in the third quarter as was Richardson and Star were ahead 83-68 going into the last 10 minutes in which they were always in control.

Hunter finished on 23 points, while Cooper had 19 points and nine rebounds, while Richardson had 20 points and seven rebounds.