Leicester Riders 59, Newcastle Eagles 70

Mar 9 2009 by Jeff King, The Journal

IN the race to win a championship, you have to take all victories, no matter what form or in what way they come.

This was certainly true on Saturday night when the Eagles won in a manner that many US-based sports commentators would call “ugly” on the road at Leicester.

But, a win is a win and this one keeps Newcastle’s bid to retain the title they won last season firmly on track.

Coming on the back of Friday’s win at home to Worthing Thunder, it completed a 24-hour double-winning weekend for player/coach Fab Flournoy’s men.

Skipper Andrew Bridge had an off night so it was left to Eagle’s top scorer and talisman, Trey Moore, to see his side over the winning line.

His main support came from Tafari ‘Tap’ Toney, with 13 rebounds to go with his 11 points, and Reggie Jackson.

With the contributions of Charles Smith, Darius Defoe, Flournoy himself and Bridge – who after a horrible shooting night came good in the final quarter – it was a solid enough all-round contribution.

After Moore and Toney had got Newcastle off to a 4-1 lead, Riders – inspired by GB international point guard Flinder Boyd – hit back with an 11-0 run.

The Eagles rallied and came back in to the game with Smith hitting seven points and then Jackson putting them in front, only for Boyd to complete a great play to have the Riders in front 18-16 after one.

It continued to be tight in the second until, with the scores level at 25, Riders scored six unanswered to take the lead.

Moore once again kick-started his side and five different scorers hit Riders with a 10-0 run before Boyd again scored the last basket of the half to make the score 35-33 to Newcastle.

Two early triples by Jackson helped Eagles to move into a 44-39 lead but Boyd once again brought his side back level.

Then Latayrl Williams completed an 8-0 burst to put Leicester up by three.

Moore, supported by Jackson and Toney, got the Eagles level and then scored on the buzzer to give his side a two-point lead with 10 minutes to play.

That final quarter belonged to the Eagles as they locked down the Riders, restricting them to just nine points.

Moore had 10 of his own and, with skipper Bridge finally nailing a triple, the Eagles closed out the game to take another step forward in the race for the BBL title.

On Wednesday, the Eagles travel to take on Sheffield Sharks in a tricky championship encounter. Then they travel to Guildford next Sunday to take on Heat in the BBL Trophy Final.

EAGLES SCORERS : Trey Moore 23, Reggie Jackson 13, Tafari Toney 11

RIDERS SCORERS : Flinder Boyd 17, Tommy Swanson 16, Latayrl Williams 14