ESSEX Rebels' men's team have secured promotion to the top flight of basketball's National League.

The team have worked their way up through the divisions and, after beating rivals Ipswich, have ensured promotion to division one, with two games to spare.

Ipswich started the better of the sides, going on a 13-4 run and forcing Rebels into an early time-out.

Coach Ross Norfolk rallied the home side and settled nerves.

After this, Essex started to find their rhythm and won the quarter 33-27.

Essex continued to play their style of basketball - fast-paced, aggressive and clinical.

Ipswich were unable to find answers to the fine shooting of the hosts and the points difference slowly started to creep in favour of Essex.

The game finished with the Rebels winning by 20 points, 114-94.

American Masa Swain led Essex with 25 points and five assists, while crowd favourite Dan Morton posted 25 points, shooting 7-9 from three-point range and adding eight rebounds.

Head coach Ross Norfolk said: “We showed real character to come out and play the way we did in this derby.

"We had a tough loss in the university league and for the boys to bounce back and perform the way they did was immense.

"The players deserve this. I'm extremely proud of their commitment to the programme and to win the division with two games to spare is an unbelievable achievement."

The Rebels now gain automatic promotion to Basketball England’s division one, which will give them added confidence going into the play-off competition this year.

Meanwhile, the Rebels' women's team took on top-of-the-table Newcastle Eagles.

The Rebels, who play at the University of Essex Sports Arena, were able to showcase the women’s game in front of over 500 fans.

The first quarter went back and forth between the teams, as the Rebels and Eagles battled hard to gain a footing.

A 17-17 tie at the end of the first quarter brought the two teams into the second quarter level.

However, a quick spurt of scoring by the Eagles helped them gain an eight-point lead heading into the half.

The Rebels, not to be deterred, came out in the third quarter with a comeback on their mind.

However, steady scoring from the Eagles saw the visitors enter the final ten minutes up by nine.

With time running out, the Rebels threw a curve ball at the Eagles by switching up their defensive tactic, resulting in limiting the opposing team’s scoring and an offensive run of their own.

The final two minutes saw the Rebels take the lead, up one.

The two teams gave the crowd a treat as they swapped points for the remainder of the game, creating a back and forth atmosphere that had the crowd cheering.

A questionable foul was called with 38 seconds remaining, giving the Eagles a one-point lead, and unfortunately, despite two good looks at the basket, the Rebels were unable to finish off their incredible run and lost by two. The final score was 70-68.

Although winning the rebounding battle, the game was decided on the foul line with the Eagles being sent to the foul line nine more times than the Rebels.

The top performers for the Rebels were Jessy Ward (18 points), Beth Sarson (14 points, six rebounds and five assists) and Ellie Shaxon (13 points and five rebounds).

The Rebels head back on the road next weekend as they take on Nottingham before returning home on March 22 against Sheffield.