After much anticipation, the Irish basketball season is finally here. Bishop McGuinness tipped of their season with the Lawton MacArthur Highlanders on Tuesday night. Many questioned where we’d see a rebuilding year for McGuinness or the same old dominance. MacArthur hoped to spoil the night for the green and white, but they must have overlooked a few players on the Irish roster.

Things started off with a bang for the 2009-2010 Fighting Irish. Defense was stellar in the first half, and Lawton MacArthur was being brutally beaten by the end of the first quarter. The star of the show was Joe Edmonds, who was making it look like shoot-around. The Highlanders were clumsy with the ball, and McGuinness attacked on the fast break. It was exactly the way Coach Durham drew it up on his clip board. The guys were running the floor, hitting the open baskets, and being aggressive on defense.

Sophomore giant Matt Christiansen was battling allergies according to a few sources, and did miss a few shots that he would rarely miss. However, Matt’s performance was mediocre. The big man inside was powerful, and went up strong to the basket. Whether it was allergies bothering him or not, the Irish were definitely not put at a disadvantage.

Kevin Caruthers was also great to see in this game. You couldn’t complain for the way Kevin ran the offense, and found the open guys on the court. Jameel Whitney as well, who just came off football season, played a good game of attacking the basket, and putting up points for the Irish.

The first half was great, the Fighting Irish led 30-12. The Highlanders ultimately could never get a rally going. Their shots weren’t on target, and the explosive offense continued to dominate. McGuinness did get a bit sloppy with the basketball towards the end of the game. MacArthur was able top pick up on some silly turnovers, but the Irish didn’t totally break down.

If you weren’t able to attend the game, and haven’t heard yet, a little student-player interaction took place. Lawton MacArthur senior guard Rileigh Linville made two free throws with the noise of the student section. After he drained both shots, he made a “hush” gesture to the McGuinness students. As we all know, the Irish students aren’t the friendliest of people. Rileigh Linville received the loudest boos and all variations of noise when he had the ball. Take note, don’t ever tick off the McGuinness student section.

In the end, the Irish had the last laugh. McGuinness topped their first opponent, 54-36. The Irish will travel to Ardmore this Friday, and are in search to stay undefeated. If you can’t make the Ardmore game, the guys play again on Saturday against Northwest Classen.