EBL Division Two Birmingham Mets 72 Ipswich 86 Ipswich stayed top of NBL Division Two with a comfortable 86-72 win on the road at Birmingham Mets despite the absence of guard duo Sam Newman and Jacob Lloyd.

Aaron Moseley led the way with a season high 23 points while Leigh Greenan was again the game’s dominant force with 23 points and 10 rebounds, for his seventh double double in eight games.

Ipswich exploded out of the blocks, opening up a 14-4 lead before seemingly taking their foot off the gas.

Moseley connected on five quick points, Greenan and Luke Mascall-Wright both made dunks and Tom Sadler picked up the ‘and-one’ from an offensive rebound as Ipswich were cruising.

However, with no Lloyd or Newman on the bench, Ipswich seemed to lack a bit of rhythm in their second unit. Despite taking their foot off the game the Suffolk side took a comfortable 22-17 lead into the huddle at the end of the first period.

The second saw Ipswich extend their lead a further three points. Moseley was again leading the line while Josh Johnson (15 points) found a way to get some points on the board via the free throw line.

The mets made their run, bringing the game within six in the quarter’s closing moments, but a big three pointer on the buzzer from Moseley allowed Ipswich some breathing space. Heading into the half-time break, the visitors had extended their lead to nine.

In the third Ipswich were able to put the game to bed. Greenan would continue to assert himself, while Mascall-Wright came alive with eight points in the period.

Billy Smith went in off the bench and again made a significant contribution both on the boards and with four quick points and Ipswich head coach Nick Drane also handed a debut to 16 year old Mark James, who repaid his coaches’ faith with a three-pointer and lay up in transition in eight minutes of play.

Ipswich extended their lead to 16 going into the fourth, now leading 62-46.

The fourth quarter was something of a formality. Behind a miracle shot from Moseley and a pair of thunderous slams from Greenan, Ipswich crushed the momentum of their spirited opponents and closed out that all important second straight win on the road, eventually winning 86-72.

Drane said: “At this stage of the season, and at this level, the most important thing is getting that win. By no means were we at our best today, but we did enough to get the win.

“We certainly missed Sam and Jacob, both play key roles. Sam will be back next week, we could have pushed it and played him today but we didn’t want to risk it with some key games still to play between now and Christmas - but he will be back next weekend.

“Jacob is the more worrying and complicated one. He has had two concussions in a month and as a consequence won’t be able to play for some time.

“His health has to come first. I will be using him as an assistant coach in the meantime.”

Ipswich are back at home this Saturday against the Eastside Eagles, tip-off at 4.30pm.