Glasgow Rocks 84 (16,35,58) (Johnson 19, Northern 19, Urli 17) Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 89 (14,39,62) (Gause 22, Defoe 21, Smith 19)

Esh Group Eagles Newcastle maintained the top spot in the BBL Championship, taking back home a victory from Scotland after defeating Glasgow Rocks 89-84 despite trailing by double figures at one point.

Newcastle got off to a positive start, with Malik Cooke and Charles Smith getting a couple easy points to give the guests a 9-2 advantage a couple of minutes into the game. However, Eagles cooled off and the Daniel Northern-led Rocks caught up and even overtook their opponents rather quickly for a 16-14 edge after the end of the opening frame.

Rocks continued to roll in the second quarter, starting the period with a 13-2 run to gain a double-digit lead at 31-20, but Eagles responded with a 16-0 spurt of their own. Paul Gause (pictured) scored eight points during the stretch, as Newcastle entered the halftime interval with a 39-35 lead after turning the game upside down in a matter of minutes.

Eagles maintained a small advantage throughout the third quarter, before putting some separation between the sides in the final quarter. The trio of Northern, Gause and Darius Defoe were firing on all cylinders as the league leaders got another win under their belt.

Gause finished with a game-high 22 points and added five assists, Defoe scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds, while Smith finished the game with 19 points.

Chris Johnson and Daniel Northern scored 19 points apiece for Rocks, with the former also dishing out 10 assists and the latter grabbing 13 rebounds. Fran Urli added a double-double as well, scoring 17 points and grabbing 11 boards.