Newcastle Eagles 94 (32,48,83) (Chapman 24, Thomson/Defoe 14)
Durham Wildcats 69 (11,27,47) (Flaherty 23, Glavin 15, Capocci/Elderkin 8)

Newcastle Eagles kept their stranglehold on the top of the BBL Championship table as they enjoyed a comfortable 94-69 victory over the Durham Wildcats at Sport Central on Friday night.

The Eagles started off the contest in explosive fashion as they rattled off a 21-0 start to the game before the Wildcats got their first points of the game with four minutes remaining. The home side maintained their 21-point advantage for the remainder of the period as they ended up leading 32-11 at the end of the opening stanza.

In the second quarter an 10-2 burst from the Wildcats got the score back to 34-21 but they could not close the gap any further as the Eagles kept the visitors at bay thanks to some strong shooting from Joe Chapman and Andrew Thomson towards the end of the half helped the home side into a 48-27 lead heading into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half the Wildcats tried valiantly to get themselves back into the game and got to within 24 points at 71-47 with three minutes remaining in the third period, but a 12-0 finish from the Eagles gave the home side an 83-47 lead heading into the final stanza.

In the final quarter the Eagles enjoyed their biggest lead of the contest at 86-49 and despite the visitors outscoring their hosts 11-22 in the final period the Eagles held on for the important victory.

Chapman (pictured) led all scorers in the game with 24 points for the Eagles, while Mario Flaherty led the scoring for the Wildcats with 23 points personal.