Belfast Star coach Sean Ingle believes his men can secure a place in the All Ireland Superleague play-offs with a decisive victory over Sligo this Saturday night at the Newforge Centre.

With two home games remaining of the regular season, against Sligo and then Killester the following Saturday, Star have placed themselves in a great position following back-to-back victories over Killorglin and Maree last weekend.

Star came through a dramatic battle with Killorglin on Saturday night in the Newforge Centre, 94-91 and followed that up with a dominant 120-86 win on the road against Maree. On both occasions American Dre Jackson top scored for Star with 28 and 29 points, respectively.

The fight for the remaining places in the top eight play-off slots could not be closer and that’s why Star’s win over Killorglin was so important, while Sligo are also in the battle for the top eight.

Star coach Ingle said: “The win against Killorglin was massive. It was like a double points win because they are fighting for the same play-off spot and the lads showed a lot of character, a lot of grit to get the win.

“Losing Max Richardson when he fouled out was a big blow but the guys responded and they really stepped up defensively to get us across the line. Now the way I see it, we obviously have to beat Sligo but to be sure of a play-off spot if we can beat them by 10 or more then that should be enough to secure the play-offs place.

“So, this Saturday’s game against Sligo is really massive and having the home crowd will be a big help. Our home stats speak for themselves.”

While Ingle was pleased with the overall team performances over the weekend, he did admit that the return to form of American Darweshi Hunter was a major boost for his side. Hunter came up with 23 points and 10 rebounds against Killorglin and then backed that up with 18 points and six rebounds against Maree.

Ingle commented: “We had seen flashes of what Darweshi could do but at the weekend we saw what he can really do. Both he and Dre set the benchmark for what they can give us every week. I spoke to Darweshi during the week  about his game and what I wanted from him and he came out and was more effective offensively and defensively.

“He’s a player who is able to shoot the ball, go to the rack, he’s athletic so he will get you rebounds and he can be one of our best defenders.

“I do feel that both he and Dre are coming to the boil at the right time and if we can get into the play-offs then we have to believe we can go deep into them.”

Against Killorglin, Star were 23-22 up after the first quarter but Killorglin, inspired by Jordan Blount and Beni Fungula then started to dominate and only a couple of three-pointers from Hunter – the last one on the buzzer - kept Star within striking distance, trailing 52-46 at the break.

Down 69-63 going into the final quarter, Star’s hopes were further dented when Richardson (21pts and 5 rebounds) fouled out but Jackson Max Cooper and Aidan Quinn inspired a fightback and with three minutes remaining the sides were tied at 83-all.

Aidan’s brother, Conor hit a momentum changing three to give Star a five-point lead with 90 seconds remaining and crucially  Jackson and Hunter hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

On Sunday, Star looked certain to take a lead into the second quarter against Maree but then Eoin Rockall Miles Brown hit three-pointers to leave sides tied on 25.

But the game changed dramatically in the second quarter with a Star onslaught. Aidan and Conor Quinn both hit threes and a basket from Hunter gave them a 52-37 lead. Maree were rocked and simply had no answer to Star’s quality.

Leading 61-39, Star opened the third quarter with a three from Conor Quinn and finished it with a three from Hunter on the buzzer to make sure they effectively killed off Maree, leading 87-65 going into the last 10 minutes.

The fourth quarter was a stroll for Star with Jackson, Hunter and the Quinn twins all delivering some eye-catching baskets.