Ipswich Basketball 89-84 Sussex Bears
NBL Division II
Copleston Sports Centre
Luke Mascall-Wright stole the show with a 44-point barrage and 14 rebounds as Ipswich Basketball defeated Sussex Bears on Saturday in front of a packed house at Copleston Sports Centre.
Mascall-Wright had two three-pointers and two dunks on his way to seventeen points in the first quarter alone – outscoring the visitors by one as Ipswich took an early 28-16 lead.
The first quarter proved to be the high point of Ipswich’s performance, with debutant Georges Mompoint registering his first points for the Suffolk side before the buzzer.
Thereafter, Ipswich’s offense lost some of its early potency and the determined Bears forced their hosts into an attritional contest.
Scoring from the reliable James Felstead and Tomas Seduikis paced Sussex as they stemmed the tide in the second quarter, as Ipswich nudged their lead up to 13 at half time, 48-35.
Coach Adam Robinson’s side made a slow start to the third quarter, and Sussex opened on a 9-2 run to close to within six points. The visitors maintained the upper hand throughout the third and finally pulled even, at 62-62, with a minute and a half to play – Mascall-Wright’s three pointer immediately restoring Ipswich to the lead.
After Ben Winter’s heads-up play restored a five-point lead at the end of the quarter, Sussex would twice come within two points of the hosts, but Ipswich had the answers when it counted in the fourth quarter.
Mascall-Wright and Jake Eynon combined for 14 points to stave off Sussex’s late run, powered by Seduikis and Division II veteran Ian Berry, as the game’s final minute played out in a free-throw shootout.
Eynon finished with 19 points for Ipswich, while Winter and Ethan Price each chipped in 11, with Price also registering 14 rebounds. Seduikis finished with 25 for Sussex.
“I’m pleased to see that we had the staying power to see it through and get the win today,” said Coach Robinson. “Sussex made us work hard for this and we will have to be better if we want to beat [league leaders] East London next weekend.”