HURTING Newcastle Eagles were given a measure of consolation after their play-off heartbreak as star man Trey Moore was named player of the year by the British Basketball Journalists’ Association.

Dumped out of the play-offs at the semi-final stage by a resurgent Sheffield Sharks, the Eagles have ended a disappointing season without silverware for the first time since 2004.

However, their contribution to a thrilling campaign has at least been recognised by British basketball writers, who chose the Atlanta-born point guard as their most outstanding player of the year.

In a season where the Eagles could never pick a settled side because of a slew of serious injuries, Moore was the second-highest scorer in the league with an average of 22.7 points per game and a league-high average of 6.2 assists.

He pipped Mersey Tigers’ former Eagle Drew Sullivan to the award with Nate Reinking, also of the Tigers, finishing third.

A broken foot suffered three weeks ago curtailed Moore’s campaign and also played a major part in the Eagles’ disappointing end to the season, which was curtailed on Sunday in Sheffield.

The Newcastle man said he was delighted to pick up the award, won last season by Joe Chapman, but admitted he would have swapped the honour for a winner’s medal of any kind.