Newcastle Eagles 82, Milton Keynes Lions 68

Mar 29 2008 by Dan Warburton, The Journal

THE Eagles bounced back from last weekend’s devastating defeat at Guildford and, as is becoming the custom in their clashes with the Lions, a dire contest threatened to boil over into a brawl, with blood on the court.

The Tynesiders eventually coasted to their 18th consecutive win in the Metro Radio Arena – but it came at a cost. Jeremy Hyatt limped from the court after one minute of the second period and skipper Andrew Bridge was dumped out of the game following a clash that resulted in stitches above his left eye.

In a tight opening period it was the visitors who launched the first offensive of the evening. Robert Youngblood got Vince Macauley’s men off the mark and it took more than four minutes for the home-side to get their noses in front.

Olu Babalola hit back-to-back baskets from under the ring to briefly give the Eagles their first lead.

Dru Spinks, Terrell Brown and Youngblood combined to give the visitors a two-point cushion before Flournoy could call a time-out.

Andrew Bridge returned to the floor to steal a point from the bonus stripe but Youngblood again haunted Flournoy’s roster and, along with Yorick Williams, the Southern University graduate capped a 10-2 tear.

The Lions maintained the impetus at the end of the first period as they led by 20-25, but the Eagles came out from the interval and blazed a 12-2 streak. Then Peter Heizer shot consecutive twos to disrupt the Eagles’ brief spell of dominance.

Skipper Bridge had spoken of the need for Flournoy’s experienced veterans to step up and absorb the pressure and in the third quarter he realised his own prophecy.

The Great Britain star shot seven from the floor and spearheaded the Newcastle attack. And when Lynard Stewart could only hit one point from the charity line in the dying seconds of the first half, the Eagles’ captain rose to put two more points on the board and extend the cushion to 43-35.

However the guard lasted only two minutes of the third period before a gash above his left eye cut short his evening. With five minutes gone of the third quarter Babalola raced the length of the court to attempt an audacious dunk. But he needed two bites at the cherry before he could secure the bucket.

Steve Leven then entered the game and made the visitors pay for a string of fouls when he bagged five points from the free throw line. At the back end of the third period Macauley took a disliking to a foul called on Shawn Jamison and was swiftly served a technical foul that furthered the Eagles’ advantage. In the closing period, the Eagles somehow established a 14-point victory.

TOP SCORERS: EAGLES: Stewart 17, Flournoy 16, Defoe 15, Babalola 15. LIONS: Williams 18, Youngblood 14, Jamison 9.