Recap

Manchester Magic 84 v Newcastle Eagles 68

Head Coach – Darius Defore / Assistant Coach – Dominic Taylor

Starting 5 – Luke Tucker, Billy Crawshaw, Lewis Pinnock, Arran Dower, Leo Glaholm

This was the highly anticipated top of the table showdown between the first and second place holders of the Premier North League.

Manchester won the tip and quickly landed the first basket of the game.  Luke Tucker stood strong under the Manchester basket taking the charge and handing procession to the Eagles however a steal from Manchester led to another Manchester basket.  Arran Dower was the first Eagles with a chance at the basket as he stepped up to the free throw line for 2 points.  Manchester were showing themselves to be a very strong team with 3 unanswered baskets in a row.  A jump ball handed the ball to the Eagles and Arran Dower finally broke the Eagles scoring drought.  A time out was called, and the Eagles headed to the bench to refocus.  When play restarted the Eagles were more composed and Arran Dower landed a 2-point basket.  Manchester called a time out.  A 3-point shot from Luke Tucker started the Eagles claw back of the point deficit.   A foul on Leonardo Wilson saw him step up to the free throw line for 1 point and for the first time in the game Manchester had no reply.  The quarter finished 17-12 in favour of Manchester.

The second quarter started with a 3-point shot from Luke Tucker quickly followed by a deep 2-point shot.  A foul at the Manchester end sent them to the free throw line for 1 point.  The ball was quickly sent back down to the Eagles end where Leonardo Wilson landed his first basket of the game, this however, was answered quickly by Manchester.  Another foul sent Manchester back to the free throw line for a single point.  In a quarter of fouls Manchester were back on the free throw line for another single point.  A long pass down the court gave Harry Merrifield a 3-point shot quickly followed by an And 1 basket.  End to end play followed and Manchester landed 3 more baskets in a row so Coach Darius called a time out.  The Eagles came back out onto the court and Arran Dower immediately added 2 more points to his tally.  Harry Merrifield landed a 3-point shot but this was quickly answered by Manchester. The quarter ended 36-32 to Manchester

The second half started with three quick baskets from this strong Manchester team.  Lewis Pinnock opened the scoring for the Eagles with an And 1 basket.  Some good ball movement at the Eagles end saw Billy Crawshaw, who was returning after a bad finger dislocation, add 2 points to his tally.  A 3-point shot from Luke Tucker added more points to the Eagles score line but again the Manchester Magic replied with a basket of their own.  Arran Dower was next with an And 1 basket.  Billy Crawshaw found himself on the free throw line for 1 point.  Both of these evenly matched teams went from end to end trading basket for basket with impressive defence and ball movement shown by both teams.  A 3-point shot from Billy Crawshaw added to the Eagles score line and Manchester called a time out.  It was Luke Tucker’s turn on the free throw line after a foul making a 3-point shot where he took advantage of all 3 points.  Manchester went on a run and the quarter ended 67-54 in Manchester’s favour.

The final quarter’s scoring was quickly opened by Manchester once again.  Alfie Rhodes however answered their run with a 3-point shot, his first basket of the game.  This strong Manchester team was very determined this quarter and looked to extend their lead at every opportunity.  Harry Merrifield was able to find his way to the basket once again for 2 more points for the Eagles.  Arran Dower added another and despite the deficit the Eagles did not stop fighting.  Some string defence under the Manchester basket from Luke Tucker sent both players to the ground and the ball back into the Eagles hands.  Billy Crawshaw added another 3 points to his tally but again Manchester answered with a basket of their own.  A foul sent Manchester to the free throw line but they were unable to take advantage.  The Eagles defence did deny Manchester a few attempts at the basket but they could not be kept out for long and they added another to their score line.  Tyler Cadete found himself on the free throw line for 2 points for the Eagles score line and the games ended 84 – 68 in favour of Manchester, handing the Eagles only their second loss of the season.

The Eagles will travel to Cheshire next week to face the Cheshire Phoenix.