NEWCASTLE Eagles dodged a bullet against Glasgow Rocks last night as they successfully stretched their winning streak in the BBL Championship to seven games.

Their super-charged pursuit towards silverware on all fronts continues, although it was far from straightforward as they dug out an 89-85 success at Kelvin Hall, having blown a 21-point lead for the second time in recent weeks.

But, buoyed by securing a place in the BBL Cup Final 48 hours earlier and with revenge on their minds having lost in the Trophy on their last visit to Scotland, they managed to recover in the closing stages, snatch victory and preserve their unbeaten status.

There wasn’t much between the teams during a high tempo opening with the Eagles trailing 15-12 after missing some easy looks under the basket.

However after finally finding their range, they finished the first period strongly with nine of the last eleven points to accumulate a first quarter lead.

It was during the second period when Flournoy and his players really stepped on the gas and began asserting control. Once again it was their trademark tenacity on defence which caused their opponent problems as the Rocks wilted under the pressure. With the hosts’ offence seriously stuttering and the Eagles being led by the ever growing influence of point guard Paul Gause and sharp-shooting of backcourt partner Joe Chapman, they stormed into what looked to be an unassailable 47-26 lead.

While the Eagles were simply terrific ahead of half-time, they were unrecognisable when they returned for the second half in an abject third period when they were outmuscled by the Rocks in a big way.

The Scottish side found some real momentum and there was no stopping them as the giant Deaundre Cranston caused some major problems to help his team haul themselves back into contention.

The Eagles’ defence went AWOL as they allowed Rocks to pour in 35 points in ten minutes having only allowed their hosts 26 during the first two quarters.

Things then got even worse when they fell behind with six minutes remaining.

At that point, it appeared as though a demanding weekend of action might have taken its toll with the concerned Eagles fans fearing the players had run out of steam and on course to crash to a first league defeat.

The Eagles simply had to dig deep and stem the tide.

This is exactly what they did as they slowed down the Rocks just when it mattered to ensure the contest was finely poised at 79-79 with two minutes left on the clock.

In a game full of twists and turns which so perfectly encapsulated many of the epic encounters between these two old foes down the years, the Eagles came up with the last and decisive run.

They made the big plays in the closing seconds, and most importantly of all, kept their nerve from the free-throw line in a marked improvement from last time out against Leicester which could have proved costly.

GLASGOW ROCKS: Green 23, Wedemire 22, Huffor 14, Cranston14

NEWCASTLE EAGLES: Chapman 27, Smith 15, Gause 13