The Niigata Albirex BB overwhelmed the Tokyo Cinq Reves from start to finish in Friday's bj-league series opener.

Early on, Niigata jumped out to a big lead and kept the pressure on throughout the contest en route to a 104-51 road victory.

The Albirex (28-15 overall, 12-9 away), who have won seven of their past eight games, led 32-17 after the opening quarter and 49-23 at halftime.

Tokyo (5-36 overall, 2-17 home) trailed 76-41 entering the fourth quarter.

Niigata out-rebounded the hosts 54-28 in Inagi, including 22-6 on the offensive glass.

University of Notre Dame alum Russell Carter paced the Albirex with a game-high 21 points, 11 rebounds and six steals, and also dished out four assists in nearly 21 minutes. Yuichi Ikeda added 20 points on 8-for-9 shooting, including 4-for-5 from 3-point range, bruising forward Thomas Kennedy poured in 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Niigata teammate Patrick Sullivan scored 14 points and Kimitake Sato finished with 10.

Zane Knowles paced the Cinq Reves with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Frontcourt mate Will Foster had 10 points, seven boards and seven blocked shots. No other Tokyo player scored in double figures.

The Cinq Reves have lost their past two games by a combined 94 points.

Tokyo, guided by third-year coach Motofumi Aoki, has lost seven straight games and 25 of its last 26.

In the paint: Jemal Farmer, Tokyo's leading scorer (19.1 points per game), is sidelined with a knee injury.