Newcastle Eagles maintained their strong recent run of form in the BBL Championship as they picked up their eighth successive victory in the competition thanks to a 111-75 victory over the Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders at Sport Central on Friday evening.

The result means that the Eagles keep the pressure on the Cheshire Jets and Mersey Tigers at the top of the table, while the Riders remain in the final play-off position two points ahead of the Worcester Wolves.

The Riders started the game the stronger as Ryan Zamroz helped the visitors into an early 5-8 lead, but a three-pointer from Charles Smith tied the game at 8-8 and from that point on the Eagles never trailed again in the contest. The Eagles then took control of the game with an 18-4 burst to close out the first quarter leading 35-19.

In the second quarter the Eagles extended their lead still further thanks to a 10-2 start to take the score out to 45-21 and they continued to exhibit their dominance on their opponents as the half progressed and despite a 9-3 run from the Riders at the end of the quarter, the Eagles took a convincing 55-39 lead into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half both teams traded baskets throughout the majority of the third quarter and the home side remained in front while slightly extending their lead over the Riders to lead 84-63 heading into the final stanza.

In the final quarter the visitors tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game with Ryan Zamroz netting a basket midway through the period to close the gap to 91-71 with six minutes remaining, but it was all in vain as the Eagles wrapped up the contest with 20-4 tear to take the score out to their biggest lead of the game at 111-85 which secured a highly impressive victory for the home side.

In an even more impressive shooting display, Smith (pictured) led all scorers with 36 points, including 8 of 12 from three-point range, for the Eagles while Zamroz led the scoring for the Riders with 20 points personal.