Shorthanded Newcastle Eagles struggled to respond to the absence of key men Mike Okauru and Malcolm Delpeche as border raiders Caledonia Gladiators executed the perfect smash and grab raid on Tyneside.

The hosts started slowly and finished tentatively as Jonny Bunyan’s men dominated the first and fourth quarters.

And Newcastle need to find a way to get past the hammer blow of losing two starting five stars as a critical period of the season gathers pace.

The first of three games in just five days — including road trips to London and Aarhus — was always going to be a stern test of Newcastle’s mettle given the previous weekend’s double injury blow.

But the Eagles took a 5-1 record against the Gladiators into a seventh meeting of the season between two fierce rivals.

And even down two players, hopes were high that the men in black would boast enough firepower to down Caledonia for a sixth time.

Perhaps they did — but shooting just 37 per cent from the field meant Newcastle were on the back foot for most of a frustrating night.

When an even battle of the boards going into the half became a dominant feature of the visitors’ game after the break things became even tougher for Steutel’s men: the final analysis revealing Gladiators outrebounded the Eagles 42-28.

And Caledonia could afford to turn the ball over 17 times and still go on to bag a dominant 16-point victory.

Newcastle — to their credit — had battled back from an eight-point first quarter deficit to close the gap to just three points at the half.

Bunyan’s new-look roster led by as many as 17 just four minutes into the second period but Defoe and Trey Pulliam launched a powerful rearguard action to haul the hosts back into contention.

Defoe hit five successive points before Pulliam took over to pace an eight-point scoring run and suddenly that shaky start appeared to be a thing of the past.

Gladiators led 51-50 eight minutes into the third period as the Eagles fought hard to claim an 11^thChampionship win of the season.

But the next two minutes were a disaster for Newcastle — two quick Christian James fouls and 6-0 Caledonia tear allowing the Scots to seize the momentum and open up an ultimately unassailable lead.

On a night when the margins around the iron were incredibly fine, the Eagles saw shot after shot rim out and land in Gladiators’ hands. The visitors claimed 33 offensive rebounds and limited Newcastle to just two second-chance points as Steutel’s men struggled to impose themselves in the paint.

Without Okauru’s guaranteed double-figure haul and clutch scoring down the stretch, the hosts needed to be more consistent when presented with clear-cut shooting opportunities.

But 15 of 22 three-point efforts were off the mark as the Eagles created a slew of open looks only to pass up on many of their best chances.

At the other end of the court, Devearl Ramsey sensed an opportunity to capitalise on his rivals’ uncertainty and the former Sheffield Shark was impressive throughout. A game high 21 points and six assists secured the MVP honours for the busy guard.

Pulliam, with 14 points and seven assists, was the pick of the bunch for Newcastle but this was a night to forget for an Eagles roster that must regroup fast ahead of key clashes with the Lions and Bakken Bears.