Recap
City of Birmingham Rockets 42 v Newcastle Eagles 110
Head Coach – Darius Defore / Assistant Coach – Dominic Taylor
Starting 5 – Luke Tucker, Billy Crawshaw, Alfie Rhodes, Tyler Cadete, Arran Dower
It was back-to-back wins for the Newcastle Eagles U14 Academy boys on this double header weekend beating both City of Birmingham Rockets on the road and York Eagles at home.
Birmingham Rockets got the scoring underway in this exciting game from the free-throw line but the Eagles quickly got the ball down to their end and Arran Dower landed the firs point of the game for the Eagles and from this point the Eagles never looked back. Luke Tucker was next to make his mark shooting a prefect 3-point shot, the first of several in the game. The Rockets had little answer to the tough defence on show form the Eagles. Billy Crawshaw added his name to the scoresheet for 2 followed by a second 3 point shot from Luke Tucker. Birmingham finally found a way through the Eagles strong line and landed a basket of their own. The Rockets found themselves on the free thrown line once again adding one more to their total. Arran Dower also found himself on the free throw line at the Eagles end with an And 1 basket. The defensive duo of Luke Tucker and Arran Dower held the Rockets at bay denying shot after shot and sending Harry Merrifield back down court for and And1 basket of his own. Quickly followed by a basket form Leonardo Wilson. Luke Tucker added another 3-point shot to his tally and once again Rockets had no reply. Leo Glaholm stood strong in a tug of war for the ball causing a jump ball situation which went in Rockets favour however thy could not take advantage and once again Harry Merrifield was up for an And 1. It was Leonardo Wilsons turn to step up to the free thrown line adding 1 point to his tally. The quarter ended 18 -89 in favour of your Eagles
Not only were the baskets flowing in quarter 2 but the Eagles defence was the star of the show holding Rockets to just 2 points the entire quarter. Leo Glaholm added his name to the score sheet quickly followed by Luke Tucker. Perry Boston joined the points party in this quarter too as well as showing his impressive rebounding. Another 3-point shot for Luke Tucker increased the Eagles lead. The strong Eagles line could not be breached by the Rockets and a big block form Leo Glaholm sent the ball back to the Eagles end where Harry Merrifield stepped up to the free throw line once again adding 2 more to the Eagles tally. An inbound ball from Ashani Branker lead to a 3-point shot form Billy Crawshaw and the quarter ended 20-46 in the Eagles favour
The second half was opened with a Billy Crawshaw basket. He was also the first Eagle to step up the free throw line in the quarter. Luke Tuckers defence once again sent the ball back to the Eagles end for another Billy Crawshaw basket. Tyler Cadete was next on the free-throw line for another Eagles point quickly followed by a basket from Arran Dower. An assist from Luke Tucker sent Alfie Rhodes to the basket for his first points of the game forcing a quick time out from the Rockets. Another corner 3 from Luke Tucker increased the Eagles lead. Finally the Rockets found a way through the Eagles line to add a basket to their tally but the Eagles quickly answered that with yet another 3 point shot from Luke Tucker. Alfie Rhodes added one more to his tally and once again Birmingham had no reply. Leo Glaholm was next on the scoresheet quickly followed by Leonardo Wilson. The defence made the Rockets unable to inbound that ball and Perry Boston took advantage of the Eagles ball adding another basket to his tally. Birmingham found a way through the line to add one to their tally and the quarter ended 29-83 in favour of the Eagles
The final quarter opened with a And 1 basket from Ashani Branker. The Eagles held the Rockets to a shot clock violation, but a game Birmingham kept on trying which finally lead to a basket for them. Tyler Cadete however stopped their short lived run, however. Ashani Branker added another for his tally. Leo Glaholm quickly followed with a basket of his own. Harry Merrifield kept the points flowing for the Eagles with some help from Leo Glaholm, Perry Boston and Leonardo Wilson and a frustrated Rockets team could not find another gear. The games ended 42-110 in the Eagles favour.
Newcastle Eagles 93 v York Eagles 48
