Ipswich coach Nick Drane was happy to see his side battle their way to a 100-86 victory over King’s Lynn on Sunday.
Ultimately Ipswich just had too much size, depth and quality for their opponents – but make no mistake about is, this was a real battle.
“This was perfect for us” said coach Nick Drane after the game.
“Nobody gets anything out of a 40-point win, not us, not the other team and not the paying public. We needed a scrap, and we got one from a very good team today.”
At no point did Ipswich relinquish their lead in this game, at no point did Ipswich look like they wouldn’t win – but at no point did this look easy for the Suffolk side.
The game started with Leigh Greenan, as ever, establishing his dominance.
The sever footer would finish with an impressive stat line of 27 points, 15 rebounds and four blocks.
Ipswich finished the first period leading 25-24, and took a 56-48 lead into the half-time interval.
The game was being played at a high tempo, with several of the Fury players hitting from long range while Josh Johnson, Colin Dockrell and Sam Newman were all hot early for Ipswich.
Taner Adu was also finding his rhythm as the veteran guard collected nine points in the first half.
The second half saw Drane challenge his players to “open this game up”, which they did, extending their lead to 18 behind the shooting of Tom Sadler and Greenan’s dominance.
However, the Fury would not lie down, and with Drane going to his bench at the end of the third period, to give some experience to his young academy players, King’s Lynn fought back to within six.
Starters Sadler, Adu and Johnson were re-introduced into the game and instantly the Ipswich team opened things up again to double figures as the team rounded things off in style, with a massive dunk from Greenan to reach the 100 point mark for the first time this season.
In addition to Greenan’s huge game, Captain Sadler was excellent with 19 points and 10 rebounds while Newman was his usual sharp shooting self with 19 points. Adu was named the Barr Personnel MVP for his home debut while Johnson dished out another ten assists to lead the team.
Drane said: “In terms of our performance, offensively we were excellent – guys did their job and we looked very efficient, scoring the ball from all over the place. However, I’m again not satisfied with our defence. I felt that training was a little flat last week and that certainly showed in the game today. That wont be happening again.”
Ipswich travel to Loughborough Riders this Saturday for their second pool game in the Patrons Cup.
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