Depleted Eagles so close to big win over Riders
NEWCASTLE Eagles slipped to a second successive road defeat in Leicester last night despite a heroic effort.
In losing 92-80 they let the reigning league champions Riders take the season series 2-1 and virtually confirm a fourth consecutive BBL Championship.
An Esh Group Eagles Newcastle side, once again shorn of the services of Fab Flournoy both as a player and on the sidelines as head coach, were also without assistant coach Dave Forrester.
This meant that Ian Macleod was asked to step up in to the top spot and he almost masterminded a sensational win.
When Jure Gunjina made a twopoint lay-up with 7:41 left to play the Eagles led by six at 71 – 65.
It was then that tiredness took its toll on a shorthanded roster as Leicester went on an 18- 0 run over the next six-plus minutes to completely turn the game around.
The visitors who had led by eleven at the half and even by twelve during the 3rd quarter were powerless to do anything to stop the Leicester surge and, in the end, undeservedly had to take a 12-point loss as the final buzzer sounded.
It was cruel on a Newcastle side that played so much better than they had on Sunday down in Surrey. They showed a lot more spirit, particularly in the opening 20 minutes of the game.
Their unfamiliar zone defence, enforced upon them as they were without four forwards, was starting to look a lot more solid. They were contesting every shot and rebound as though their season depended upon it, which in many ways it did.
Jaysean Paige, who had been uncharacteristically quiet in the last outing, had 14 points by the half, and with Saah Nimley also providing solid support an unlikely Eagles win had been on the cards until those last final fatal minutes.
Leicester had opened the game well, but Eagles fought back and with Paige in the mood had opened a 25-17 lead before Rema Lascelles heaved a “hail Mary” shot from inside his own half to cut the gap to within five after the first period.
Newcastle were being resilient and taking everything Leicester could throw at them. Deep in the second quarter the home side cut the Eagles’ lead to three points and Macleod called a time-out.
He rallied his side and they came out of that team talk in determined mood, closing down their opponents and ending the half on a 9-1 run to take that 11-point lead in to the locker room.
Nimley’s early third-period triple gave his side their largest lead of the night at 49-37. But back came Leicester again and their captain Tyler Bernadini led by example. He exploded from beyond the arc, dropping five triples in a blink of an eye to bring his side within two points.
Another great time-out call saw Newcastle once again show great fortitude and they ripped off an 8-0 run with Jamal Williams prominent to go back up by ten points and keep their hosts at bay.
The Riders though were back to within five at 66-61 by the end of the third to set-up their sensational final period where they completely extinguished the Eagles fire.
For the Eagles, Paige was closed down in the second half and fouled out with almost four minutes to go, while Nimley’s top-scoring effort was all in vain as he lacked support for most of that final 20 minutes.
Somehow, Newcastle have to regroup as they move on very quickly and must face a dangerous London Lions on their own court tonight. On the evidence of the spirit they showed they have hope. Whether they have enough spring in their legs though is another question.