Ipswich Under-18 Men sealed their division title with a game to spare, securing an 87-54 win over Shoeburyness Scorpions on Sunday, writes Rob Schatten.

Blake Read and Ethan Price combined for 20 points in the first quarter as Ipswich built a solid early lead. Joe Hindley added ten in a second-quarter spurt to see the hosts to a 51-29 half-time advantage.

Coach Noel Lambert reserved special praise for the performance of back-up forward Louis Gibson, who controlled the fourth quarter to round out his first season of league basketball for Ipswich.

Price had 28 points, while Read finished on 14 and Hindley added 12.

The Under-14 Girls had an even wider margin of victory as Kevin Manning’s team trounced London Greenhouse Pioneers 102-31 on Saturday afternoon.

Ipswich used their significant size advantage to good effect in building a massive first-quarter lead, and were ahead by 20 points within the first eight minutes of the game.

London saw no let-up in the second half and the visitors managed just nine points across the final 20 minutes.

Susannah Rafiu led the way with 32 points, while Alicia Boddy added 19 and Makenna Williams 16 as the girls confirmed their own playoff spot.

In the weekend’s other junior game, Syd Payne’s Under-14 Boys lost to Bucks Hornets, 80-58.

After a strong performance and 50-point win last weekend, Ipswich were unable to carry their momentum over to a tougher game, and defensive lapses in the second quarter paved the way for a Hornets win.

Ipswich mounted a comeback in the second half but fell short and Bucks were able to extend the lead in the fourth quarter.

Joe Thomas (21 points) and Harrison Gregg (19) were the leading scorers for the hosts.