SPORT Central was bouncing last night as Newcastle Eagles fans celebrated a barely believable and nerve-jangling BBL Cup quarter-final success against Glasgow Rocks.
Quite how the Eagles managed to emerge victorious and secure their second semi-final of the season is likely to remain a mystery for quite some time since Fab Flournoy and his players were seemingly destined to lose this game.
For almost three-quarters, the Eagles shooting percentages were quite horrific and their decision-making was a tad worse.
Yet they managed to spark a real renaissance to overturn a 13-point deficit, but even when they found themselves with a healthy seven-point lead in the final period, they gifted Rocks a second chance.
It almost proved costly, but the swashbuckling Charles Smith saved the day by torching his former team for 25 points.
Having opened the contest with a three-pointer from Andy Thomson, it certainly wasn’t a sign of things to come with the Eagles failing to make another basket during the next five minutes, but the Rocks weren’t much better as they edged 16-15 in front at the end of the first period.
The excruciating lack of both rhythm and general fluidity was perhaps not altogether surprising with both teams having to adjust in the absence of their respective point guards Paul Gause and EJ Harrison.
There was no daylight between the teams at 26-26 but, with Fab Flournoy in foul trouble, he encountered further foul trouble and could only watch on in frustration from the bench as his team fell 35-30 behind by the half-time break.
It was certainly a miserable first-half shooting performance for the home side, who missed 11 shots in a row from three-point range with their finishing around the hoop similarly eye-watering.
Things looked even bleaker during the third quarter when they fell 53-40 behind.
But, with the support of the fans, the Eagles finally burst into life and launched a comeback with a thrilling buzzer-beating three at the end of the third period by Joe Chapman cutting the gap to 60-55.
The momentum shifted in a big way and, with the defensive intensity raised to new levels, the home side completed their devastating 27-7 run to storm into the lead at 67-60 with the Rocks suddenly looking floored.
However, in a fixture which has traditionally provided an extra twist, the visitors rallied and incredibly regained the lead with just over two minutes to play to set up a stomach-churning finale.
The killer blow was eventually landed by Smith, who made a huge three-pointer with just under a minute to play to give his team the lead.
The Rocks didn’t recover as the home side held on by their fingernails to spark jubilant scenes on and off the court on the final buzzer.
The players will now wait to see who they will face in the semi-final with the Eagles pencilled in to meet whoever emerges from tomorrow’s quarter-final tie between Cheshire Jets and Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders.
NEWCASTLE EAGLES SCORERS: Smith 25, Chapman 19, Thomson 18.
GLASGOW ROCKS SCORERS: Green 28, Davis 18, Huffor 10.
