BBL Championship

Manchester Giants 98 (Gill 25, Jones 23, Marsden 22)
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 112 (Cooke 32, Martin 21, Smith 19)

Nothing could separate the sides after a high-scoring first quarter, as the scoreboard showed 27-27 after the first 10 minutes of play.

However, Eagles took command in the second period, going on a 19-5 run to take a 14-point lead after Andrew Lasker’s basket.

Having outscored Giants 37-18 in the second quarter, Newcastle took a 19-point advantage into the halftime break, putting the hosts in a very complicated situation.

Although Giants had managed to cut the deficit to single digits in the middle of the fourth quarter, Eagles escaped to a double-digit lead in a matter of minutes.

Malik Cooke had a game-high 32 points for Newcastle, Scott Martin scored 21, while Charles Smith (pictured) added 19 points and seven assists from the bench.

Giants trio of Stefan Gill, James Jones and Rob Marsden combined for 70 points, but the bench players brought only three points in an up-tempo game.