IT was a great game of basketball but ultimately it ended in disappointment for Newcastle Eagles last night at Sport Central.
After last weekend’s ‘miracle’ win at Glasgow, with head coach Fab Flournoy back on the sidelines and the return of Reggie ‘Action’ Jackson to an Eagles vest, hopes were high for another big win against a Championship rival.
But in the end, despite a magnificent performance from the mercurial Trey Moore, the Eagles just came up short as The Sharks opened up the BBL Title race with an excellent road win.
In the process they gained a modicum of revenge from the thrashing they took on their own court at the hands of the Eagles in early January.
The Eagles’ winning league streak therefore ended at 14 but the two consolations they can take from the game are that they hold the head-to-head over Sheffield in the league series and they are still at the top of the league.
For how long is anyone’s guess, but with an away trip to Leicester to come today they have a chance to right the wrong and get back immediately to winning ways.
They will find it tough in Leicester’s tight gym – but hopefully they will be able to find that winning formula once again.
Last night was a tough game and a tough loss to take. Eagles started well but the game was pretty even in the early stages. Moore had already laid down his intentions and was quickly off the mark, but it was the introduction of Jackson that gave Eagles the spark and energy they needed. He nailed his first two shots, both triples, and in the blink of an eye Newcastle had a double-digit lead.
But Sheffield are not BBL Cup holders and top-four material for no reason, and they managed to cut the gap to 23-17 after the first.
In the second, the Eagles once again managed to open a gap with Moore and Charles Smith along with skipper Andrew Bridge prominent.
Sheffield’s guards were also in fine shooting form, and with Steve Dagastino and Marcus Stout combining well, they managed to level the game by half-time at 41-41.
The third period was nip and tuck all the way and was the story for the rest of the game. Eagles held sway for most of the third period but they couldn’t manage to shake off the Sharks who were always on their tails. It was a real battle of the shooters with both side’s guards cancelling each other out, apart from Moore for Newcastle who was just about unstoppable.
However, his supporting cast fell a bit short as Sheffield’s roster were just that little bit stronger and all-round they just had a bit too much for a Newcastle side adjusting to a different style of play with Jackson back in the fold.
Moore had his side a point in front at 67-66 going in to the final period and it was still anyone’s games.
Perhaps in the end it was the inside presence and three-point shooting of Sheffield that just managed to edge them in front, although to be fair both sides were slugging it out like the heavyweight title contenders they are. In the end it came down to Sharks holding their nerve down the stretch and being very impressive from the free-throw line to seal a win that was hard to swallow for Flournoy and his players as they trooped off.
NEWCASTLE: Trey Moore 39, Charles Smith 17, Andrew Bridge 16
SHEFFIELD: Marcus Stout 20, Steve Dagastino 18, Olu Babalola, Mike Tuck and Ryan Patton all 16.
