# 2015–16 Irish Premier League season

The 2015–16 Irish Premier League season was the 43rd running of Basketball Ireland's premier men's basketball competition. The season featured 10 teams from across the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, with the regular season beginning on 3 October 2015 and ending on 6 March 2016. With a first-place finish and a 16–2 win–loss record, UCC Demons were crowned back-to-back league champions, while 2016 National Cup honours went to Templeogue, who collected their first piece of silverware. In the season finale Champions Trophy tournament, Demons took out the title for the fourth straight year.

## Teams

| Team | Stadium | City/Area | Last season |
| Belfast Star | Methodist College | Belfast | 6th |
| DCU Saints | DCU Sports Complex | Glasnevin, Dublin | 8th |
| Éanna | Coláiste Éanna | Rathfarnham, Dublin | New |
| Killester | IWA Sports Hall | Clontarf, Dublin | 4th |
| Moycullen | Kingfisher, NUIG | Galway | New |
| Swords Thunder | ALSAA Sports Complex | Dublin Airport, Dublin | 2nd |
| Templeogue | Oblate Hall | Inchicore, Dublin | 3rd |
| UCC Demons | Mardyke Arena, UCC | Cork | 1st |
| UCD Marian | UCD Sports Centre | Belfield, Dublin | 5th |
| UL Eagles | PESS Building, UL | Limerick | 9th |

## Regular season
### Standings

| # | Irish Premier League Regular Season Standings | Irish Premier League Regular Season Standings | Irish Premier League Regular Season Standings | Irish Premier League Regular Season Standings | Irish Premier League Regular Season Standings |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | PTS |
| 1 | UCC Demons | 16 | 2 | 89 | 48 |
| 2 | Killester | 14 | 4 | 78 | 42 |
| 3 | Templeogue | 14 | 4 | 78 | 42 |
| 4 | UCD Marian | 10 | 8 | 56 | 30 |
| 5 | Swords Thunder | 9 | 9 | 50 | 27 |
| 6 | DCU Saints | 7 | 11 | 39 | 21 |
| 7 | Belfast Star | 6 | 12 | 33 | 18 |
| 8 | UL Eagles | 6 | 12 | 33 | 18 |
| 9 | Moycullen | 5 | 13 | 28 | 15 |
| 10 | Éanna | 3 | 15 | 17 | 9 |
Source: Basketball Ireland

## Champions Trophy
### Bracket

| Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| | | | 1 | UCC Demons | 75 | | |
| 4 | UCD Marian | 101 | 4 | UCD Marian | 71 | | |
| | KUBS** | 67 | | | | UCC Demons | 82 |
| | | | | | | Killester | 77 |
| | | | 2 | Killester | 94 | | |
| 3 | Templeogue | 86 | 3 | Templeogue | 76 | | |
| | Maree* | 73 | | | | | |
*National League Division 1 champions.
**National League Division 1 runners-up.

### Quarter-finals

* 12 March 2016 16:30 GMT
| Maree | 73–86 | Templeogue |
| Pts: Cathal Finn (18) | | Pts: Michael Bonaparte (34) |
* Calasanctius College, Oranmore
* 12 March 2016 20:00 GMT
| KUBS | 67–101 | UCD Marian |
| Pts: Jonathan Riles (19) | | Pts: Dustan Moreira (24) |
* Carroll Arena, Greendale, Dublin
Source: Basketball Ireland

### Semi-finals

* 19 March 2016 15:00 GMT
* Box Score Report
| Killester | 94–76 | Templeogue |
| Scoring by quarter: 26–21, 24–24, 19–18, 25–13 |||
| Pts: Jermaine Turner (25) Rebs: Jermaine Turner (16) Asts: Ciaran Roe (6) | | Pts: Michael Bonaparte (28) Rebs: Michael Bonaparte (13) Asts: Tied (5) |
* The Watershed, Kilkenny
* 19 March 2016 17:00 GMT
* Box Score Report
| UCC Demons | 75–71 | UCD Marian |
| Scoring by quarter: 23–18, 19–19, 22–22, 11–12 |||
| Pts: Lehmon Colbert (35) Rebs: Lehmon Colbert (17) Asts: Kyle Hosford (5) | | Pts: Dustan Moreira (17) Rebs: Dustan Moreira (11) Asts: Barry Drumm (8) |
* The Watershed, Kilkenny
Source: Basketball Ireland, Basketball Ireland

### Final

* YouTube
* 20 March 2016 16:00 GMT
* Box Score Report
| UCC Demons | 82–77 | Killester |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–15, 24–26, 26–14, 16–22 |||
| Pts: Lehmon Colbert (27) Rebs: Lehmon Colbert (16) Asts: Colin O'Reilly (10) | | Pts: Paul Dick (22) Rebs: Paul Dick (12) Asts: Tied (6) |
* The Watershed, Kilkenny MVP: Lehmon Colbert

## National Cup
### Round 1 (2 legs)

* 13 November 2015 (Series 1)
| UL Eagles | 53–82 | UCC Demons |
* UL Arena, Limerick
* 14 November 2015 (Series 2)
| UCD Marian | 116–85 | DCU Saints |
* UCD Sports Centre, Dublin
* 14 November 2015 (Series 3)
| Moycullen | 70–80 | Templeogue |
* NUIG Kingfisher, Galway
* 14 November 2015 (Series 4)
| Swords Thunder | 78–59 | Éanna |
* ALSAA, Dublin
* 14 November 2015 (Series 5)
| Belfast Star | 86–74 | Killester |
* Methodist College, Belfast
* 4 December 2015 (Series 1)
| UCC Demons | 88–67 | UL Eagles |
| UCC Demons win Series 1 on aggregate (170–120). |||
* Mardyke Arena, Cork
* 5 December 2015 (Series 2)
| DCU Saints | 67–80 | UCD Marian |
| UCD Marian win Series 2 on aggregate (196–152). |||
* DCU Sports Complex, Dublin
* 5 December 2015 (Series 3)
| Templeogue | 79–78 | Moycullen |
| Templeogue win Series 3 on aggregate (159–148). |||
* Oblate Hall, Dublin
* 5 December 2015 (Series 4)
| Éanna | 86–92 | Swords Thunder |
| Swords Thunder win Series 4 on aggregate (170–145). |||
* Coláiste Éanna, Dublin
* 5 December 2015 (Series 5)
| Killester | 100–51 | Belfast Star |
| Killester win Series 5 on aggregate (174–137). |||
* IWA-Clontarf, Dublin

### Round 2 (1 leg)

Winner of Series 2 vs Winner of Series 4
* 18 December 2015
| Swords Thunder | 80–70 | UCD Marian |
* ALSAA, Dublin

### Semi-finals

Winner of Series 1 vs Winner of Round 2
* 8 January 2016
| UCC Demons | 82–103 | Swords Thunder |
* Mardyke Arena, Cork
Winner of Series 5 vs Winner of Series 3
* 9 January 2016
| Killester | 59–61 | Templeogue |
* Mardyke Arena, Cork

### Final

* 30 January 2016 20:00 GMT
* Box Score Report
| Swords Thunder | 75–78 | Templeogue |
| Scoring by quarter: 16–24, 23–4, 12–29, 24–21 |||
| Pts: Isaac Westbrooks (15) Rebs: Dan Nelms (13) Asts: Isaac Westbrooks (7) | | Pts: Michael Bonaparte (21) Rebs: Jason Killeen (10) Asts: Sean Flood (5) |
* National Basketball Arena, Dublin MVP: Michael Bonaparte
Source: Basketball Ireland, Comortais

## Awards
### Player of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| October | Michael Bonaparte | Templeogue |
| November | Lehmon Colbert | UCC Demons |
| December | Duane Johnson | DCU Saints |
| January | Michael Bonaparte | Templeogue |
| February | Jermaine Turner | Killester |

### Coach of the Month

| Month | Player | Team |
| October | Mark Keenan | Templeogue |
| November | Colin O'Reilly | UCC Demons |
| December | Neal McCotter | Belfast Star |
| January | Mark Keenan | Templeogue |
| February | Brian O'Malley | Killester |

### Statistics leaders

Stats as of the end of the regular season
| Category | Player | Team | Stat |
| Points per game | Duane Johnson | DCU Saints | 26.2 |
| Rebounds per game | Duane Johnson | DCU Saints | 18.7 |
| Assists per game | Isaac Westbrooks | Swords Thunder | 9.1 |
| Steals per game | Alexander Zurn | UCD Marian | 4.6 |
| Blocks per game | Alexander Zurn | UCD Marian | 3.6 |

### Regular season

* Player of the Year: Lehmon Colbert (UCC Demons)
* Young Player of the Year: Sean Flood (Templeogue)
* Coach of the Year: Brian O'Malley (Killester)
* All-Star First Picks:
** Michael Bonaparte (Templeogue)
** Lehmon Colbert (UCC Demons)
** Duane Johnson (DCU Saints)
** Jermaine Turner (Killester)
** Shawn Vanzant (Belfast Star)
* All-Star Second Picks:
** Staats Battle (UL Eagles)
** Paul Dick (Killester)
** Sean Flood (Templeogue)
** Dan James (UCD Marian)
** Isaac Westbrooks (Swords Thunder)
* All-Star Third Picks:
** Paul Cummins (Templeogue)
** Conor Grace (Templeogue)
** Jason Killeen (Templeogue)
** Dustan Moreira (UCD Marian)
** Mārtiņš Provizors (DCU Saints)