Eagles in a rush to clinch it

Feb 4 2008 The Journal

WITH new boys Steve Leven and Sam Attaha looking on, the mainstays of the Eagles roster produced a stunning performance in Sheffield on Saturday to reach their second national final of the season.

And while Attaha has been around the Eagles camp for some time and is well aware of Fab Flournoy’s team and their abilities, Leven had flown in only the day before.

This was his first taste of his new team-mates in action – and he couldn’t have been anything other than impressed.

Against a Jets side that had mysteriously parted company with ex-Eagles legend TJ Walker as their player-coach a week ago, Flournoy sent out his charges to prove the Cheshire side had been wrong to discard his long-time ally and friend.

Jets had been playing well under Walker’s guidance and many thought this would be a close match-up, given that the Eagles had shown signs of fatigue and were carrying a few injuries.

However, Newcastle had taken the 13-day lay-off since their last game as a chance to rest up and they came to this semi-final ready to play. None more so than Jeremy Hyatt, who has not been at his best this term due to injury. That changed on Saturday as Hyatt led his team to a resounding victory and a chance to pick up the BBL Trophy next month in Plymouth. However, it would be churlish to pick out Hyatt because, in truth, this was a demonstration of Eagles basketball at its best, a team performance with everyone contributing. All nine Eagles players saw action in an astonishing first-quarter display that laid the groundwork for the win.

The game had started evenly and was tied at 8-8 when the Eagles produced a staggering burst of 18 unanswered points to blow the game open. Tenacious defence was the key as Newcastle closed down the Jets’ danger men and scored at will at the other end. Charles Smith had 10 points in the period and Hyatt eight in only four minutes.

The powerful run continued and after 10 minutes it was 38-11, a 30-3 demolition of a sad-looking Jets side. There was no let-up in the second quarter either as the Eagles poured it on and stretched the gap to 36 points at 59-23 before the Jets managed seven unanswered to make the half-time score 59-30.

Newcastle had the luxury of running their bench in the second half as they looked to get through the rest of the game without adding to any niggling injuries and give the likes of youngsters Aaron Neilson and Will Spragg valuable court time. Neither let the side down and both got on the score sheet as the Eagles maintained their advantage throughout the final 20 minutes. This completed a full bench scoring performance, with Darius Defoe weighing in with 12 points in that stretch.

At the final buzzer it was as emphatic as the scoreline suggests, giving Newcastle the chance to make up for the disappointment of last month’s BBL Cup final defeat at the hands of Milton Keynes Lions and land their first trophy of the season. They will face Guildford Heat in the final in Plymouth on Sunday, March 3. Guildford saw off a determined Worcester Wolves side 81-75 in Saturday’s first semi-final thanks to 18 points from Daniel Gilbert and 17 from ex-Eagles MVP Tony Dorsey.

Last word to Leven, contemplating life as an Eagle: “Our guys were awesome today and I really enjoyed it. I can’t wait to get up and running and become part of this team.”

TOP SCORERS – Eagles: Jeremy Hyatt 21, Charles Smith 19, Darius Defoe 18. Jets: Jayson Obazuaye 26, James Hamilton 20, Matt Otten 19.