Newcastle Eagles handed the top four initiative to their mid table rivals after an unconvincing homecourt display left head coach Marc Steutel baffled.

The men in black slipped back to sixth in the Championship table following a seventh loss in eight Super League Basketball (SLB) games.

And now Newcastle find themselves mired in the thick of a five-club battle to grab the final top four spot with Surrey firmly in the mix following a deserved win on Tyneside.

Red hot 89ers pair Mervin James (31) and Jalen Ray (26) led the way for the focused visitors on a night when the Eagles’ wings were well and truly clipped.

And something will have to change fast before the two teams meet again in a fortnight’s time.

“We’ve seen time and time again in this league that every team is competitive,” said Steutel. “Every team has the opportunity and the ability to beat anyone else.

“I’m a terrible loser but I can accept losing if you play the right way. We didn’t do that against Surrey.

“I don’t know where we were in those first 20 minutes. I don’t know why we have to try and manipulate a mentality where we feel we’re being wronged or something’s going against us before we start to fight.

“All season I’ve been trying to instil a mentality of fighting from the jump.

“I hope the guys look at themselves and respond positively as they have in big games throughout the year.

“But Surrey was a big game for me and I’m frustrated with my group.”

James was on fire from the tip as the 89ers’ forward hit big shots inside and out on his way to an impressive game high haul.

And as attention turned towards the do-it-all forward, team-mate Ray increasingly exploited the extra space that opened up — adding 26 points to his six assists and six rebounds.

By contrast, only Seneca Knight and Trey Pulliam carried any real offensive threat for the lacklustre hosts on a night when nothing really went to plan.

The former maintained his rich vein of scoring form to lead all scorers with 20 points.

And Pulliam kept probing in the paint to convert seven of his 12 field goal attempts and dish up nine assists in the process.

Elsewhere a below-par Mike Okauru racked up seven rebounds and three assists before limping out of the action after the break.

Newcastle’s leading scorer had his head in his hands towards the end of the game and club officials will be hoping the US guard is fit to go again when the Eagles tackle Dziki Warszawa in Tuesday’s European North Basketball League (ENBL) semi-final.

Perhaps that mouthwatering match-up against the Poles was in the backs of the minds of the men in black as a tentative start allowed the 89ers to open up a 50-41 first half lead.

Steutel insisted his players’ focus was fixed on a must-win league clash but Newcastle lacked the intensity required to keep Surrey at bay.

And Lloyd Gardner’s men sensed an opportunity to claim a prized scalp with James and Ray running riot in the face of a disjointed defence.

The hosts did fight back after the break with the battling Josh Ward-Hibbert (eight points, nine rebounds and four steals) spearheading a determined rearguard action.

But after Christian James trimmed the deficit to five, just two minutes from time, there was nothing left in the tank for Steutel’s out-of-sorts Eagles.

And the 2025 SLB Trophy winners need to shake off a damaging loss and lock into ENBL mode ahead of the biggest 48 hours in franchise history.