EBL Division Two London Westside 60 Ipswich 89 A 24-5 first quarter was enough for Ipswich to seal the deal and get into cruise control in the first game of the English Basketball League Division Two season.

The Suffolk side used a balanced attack throughout the game to blow their London-based opponents away, allowing coach Nick Drane to rest some of his players carrying minor injuries while giving valuable experience to some of the team’s new and younger members.

Last season Ipswich did the double over London Westside, but both games were real battles. At Copleston, Ipswich took it by ten in overtime, while in London it was a nine-point victory, so the team were expecting a much sterner test than they got on this day.

The first quarter saw Leigh Greenan and Josh Johnson dominate, with Greenan collecting seven points while Johnson dished out five assists.

With the game looking done and dusted Drane, who was already without new guard Jacob Lloyd – out with an ankle sprain – then chose to rest captain Tom Sadler, who was suffering with a dead leg, allowing new recruits Billy Smith and Codrin Crangasu to share his minutes.

Elsewhere, Aaron Moseley continued to show off his much improved game while Mascall-Wright, Sam Newman and Nick Sims all demonstrated their ever-developing games.

Although the team essentially played the final three-quarters in third gear, it was enough to take home a comprehensive win on the road and send a clear message to the rest of Division Two.

Drane said: “This was a tough road trip on paper, and with Lloydy and Tom banged up I was ready for a real battle but in all honesty we didn’t get that today.

“That being said, Westside have some excellent players and I have no doubt they will be a force this season and will get some good wins. It was great to get the win with Tom getting a rest.

“It gave other guys a chance for some extra minutes but with sterner tests ahead it’s important for us to get some rhythm.”

For Ipswich, Moseley and Greenan both collected 20 points, with the latter also grabbing 14 rebounds to go with two blocks.

Elsewhere, Luke Mascall-Wright had 15, with eight rebounds and four assists.

This weekend Ipswich host old rivals Worcester Wolves at Copleston on Saturday in their first home league game of the season. The game tips off at 4.30pm.

The fixture list has thrown up an odd schedule that sees the team now play seven straight home games, offering a huge chance to build serious momentum going into the mid-season break.