Dublin Lions finish in top spot of Domino’s Men’s Division One after 92-70 win over Ulster University

Dublin Lions finished the regular season at the summit of the Domino’s Men’s Division One with a 92-70 win over Ulster University, Drogheda Wolves defeated Carrick Cruisers 93-62 to secure second place and Limerick Sport Eagles round out the top three with a 131-46 win over Killarney Cougars.

Maree ensured they took the final home court spot with an 84-78 triumph over SPK Utility Trust Lakers, who finish in fifth., Titans BC beat Tipp Talons 109-70 take seventh position, Moy Tolka Rovers managed to grab the final playoff place after a 94-78 win over Templeogue. Tolka’s win meant that ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers failed to make the playoffs despite an 80-73 victory over Maigh Cuilinn and Malahide ended their campaign with an 84-78 triumph over Team Northwest.

Dublin Lions will enter the playoffs as the number one team in the league after a 22-point victory over Ulster University. Tiernan Howe, Tiago Dos Santos Pereira, Kevin Anyanwu, Aran Lee, Russell Marr and Ignacio Folgueiras all managed to score in double digits for Lions to combat a strong 31-point performance from Ulster’s Prince Ebwea. Lions held control for the majority of the game, leading by as much as 28 points in the win.

Lions will host Titans BC next week in the quarter-finals of the playoffs. As for Ulster University, they end the season in 11^th with a record of 11-11.

Drogheda Wolves gained some more momentum heading into the playoffs, with a 93-62 win over Carrick Cruisers in the Phoenix Centre. Vernon Jackson and Franiciszek Chmielecki combined for 44 of the 92 points Wolves put up on the board. Four of the Cruisers starters scored in double digits, with Ben Kelly-Flynn scoring 10, Tyler Mutemasango adding 15, Martins Provizors getting 10 and James Aboaba getting 12 points.

Wolves welcome SPK Utility Trust Lakers next weekend in the playoffs, whilst Carrick Cruisers head  to Maree in the quarters.

Limerick Sport Eagles picked up a comprehensive win, defeating Killarney Cougars 131-46 on Saturday evening. Darragh Horkan scored a season-high 32 points for Eagles, accompanied by another 30+ point game from Alex Carlisle. The win for Eagles sees them end the season at 16-6 with the 85-point victory building momentum ahead of the visit of Moy Tolka Rovers next weekend. Cougars season comes to a close with a record of 3-19, finishing in 15^th.

Maree ensured they took the final home court place in the table with an 84-78 triumph over SPK Utility Trust Lakers. Isaiah Taylor scored 26 points as he ends the regular season at the top of the points scoring table across the league, having scored 666 points this season with an average of 30.3 per game. Despite some fightback from Lakers through Stephen Kelly, who also had 26, Maree managed to hold the lead both the third and fourth quarter to take home fourth-spot and a six-point win.

Maree will host Carrick Cruisers next weekend in the playoffs, with the winner facing either Dublin Lions or Titans in the semi-finals of the Domino’s Men’s Division One.

Tipp Talons ended their season in defeat with a 109-70 loss to seventh-placed Titans BC on Saturday. Every player for Titans managed to get on the scoresheet, with Umar Rachid leading the side with 20 points. For Talons, Aleksandar Kovacevic had a game-high showing, with 22 points accompanied by a 17-point game from Rian Broderick.

Titans head to Dublin Lions in the playoffs, whilst Tipp Talons season ends here with a record of 7-15.

Moy Tolka Rovers took the last playoff place in the table with a 94-78 win over Templeogue in TUD Tallaght. Tolka had four players in double digits for scoring on Saturday, with Gustas Pocevicius, Daniel Ayoade, Stephen Commins and Derek Murphy all scoring well with Murphy posting a game-high 27. Evan Cook scored 15 for Templeogue as their season ended in defeat.

Tolka will make the journey to Limerick, facing the Eagles before they could potentially meet the Wolves or Lakers in the semi-finals. Templeogue finish the season at 7-15 in 12^th position.

Due to Tolka’s victory, ND Audit Portlaoise Panthers did not make the playoffs despite an 80-73 victory over Maigh Cuilinn on Saturday. It was one of the tighter games this weekend in St. Mary’s Hall, with 11 lead changes across the game. Amiri Stewart scored 22 points for the Panthers, with Davin McEvoy and Xabier Arriaga adding 36 between them to ensure Portlaoise secured the win. Grant Olsson led the way for Maigh Cuilinn, getting 21, shooting just under 50% from the field in an efficient display.

Panthers fail to make the playoffs, a year after they saw defeat in the final against Limerick Celtics. Maigh Cuilinn finish a place below Panthers, with a record of 11-11 in tenth.

Team Northwest unfortunately ended the season winless after a 78-84 defeat to Malahide. The Malahide trio of Romonn Nelson, Tom French and Christian McDonnell scored 55 of Malahide’s 84 points. Northwest’s Thomas DiRIenzo closed the chapter of a memorable personal season with his ninth 30+ point game of the season, scoring 32 against Malahide in the loss.

Northwest’s season ends at 0-22, with Malahide ending at 4-18, two places above the foot of the table in 14^th.