Ipswich 79 Derbyshire Arrows 86
Ipswich’s Senior Men were unable to capitalise on any momentum from last weekend as they started slowly and never led in a 79-86 loss to Derbyshire Arrows at Copleston, writes Rob Schatten.
The visitors, who have been beaten twice by Ipswich this season, started the hungrier and Greg Brownell made early opportunities pay as the Arrows built a lead.
Jed Robinson put in 17 of a career-high 22 points for Ipswich in the first half, as he carried the hosts’ otherwise inconsistent offense. In the second half, it was guard Ben Winter who went to work, adding 14 of his eventual 20 after half-time.
Having trailed by as many as 13 in the early going, Ipswich brought the game back to within a point on multiple occasions, but were unable to find the crucial go-ahead basket to swing the game in their favour.
Without Marvin Isebor and Blake Read, Ipswich were also playing short-handed against a physical Derbyshire side who capitalised on their opportunity to dominate the hosts on the backboards.
The Arrows out-rebounded Ipswich 58-33.
The visitors cooled off offensively in the second half, with the exception of former Division II Player of the Year Joseph Baugh, who finished with game highs of 29 points and 15 rebounds.
“We weren’t at the races in the first half, and we paid for it,” said Head Coach John Ellis after the game.
“We’ve been playing these guys for long enough to know that you don’t get away with that against Derbyshire. This was another reminder that we need to start games stronger.”
The club’s junior sides endured a mixed weekend.
There were wins for the Under-14 Girls, who continued their winning streak with a 126-22 mauling of Northants Lightning II behind 18 points from Hannah Grey, and the Under-18 Men, who got back to winning ways with a hard-fought 68-61 victory over Brentwood Leopards thanks to 26 points from Jacob Morgan.
Meanwhile, the Under-16 Boys lost a close contest 84-81 at Northamptonshire Titans, while the Under-16 Girls saw their half-time lead eaten away by Oaklands Wolves on their way to an eventual 75-66 defeat.
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