BBL Championship
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 92 (26,50,73) (Fletcher 22, Parks 21, Jackman 20)
Surrey Scorchers 81 (21,43,60) (Neighbour 19, Taylor 17, Ochereobia 14)

Esh Group Eagles Newcastle were made to work hard for a 92-81 success against Surrey Scorchers as they made a return to winning ways.

Rahmon Fletcher top scored with 22 points with Deondre Parks adding 21 points, while Orlan Jackman weighed in with a double-double of 20 points and 11 boards.

The Eagles had lost two straight league games heading into the clash and made a fast start with a 15-6 opening. However, the Scorchers hit back with a strong response to take the lead at 18-19.

Jackman netted twice from downtown in an 8-0 run for the Eagles before an 11-2 start to the second saw the Scorchers build their largest lead of the game.

Newcastle re-gained control to go up by seven at the interval and pushed on in the third as they established a double-digit advantage heading into the final 10 minutes.

A 15-5 spell gave Surrey a glimmer of hope late on with Tayo Ogedengbe’s basket cutting the gap to six with over a minute left.

The Eagles held firm and finished the game in style to keep up the pressure on league leaders, Leicester Riders, who were also victorious on the night.