Newcastle Eagles 88 (24,45,66) (Moore 26, Toney 18, Bridge 15)
Everton Tigers 77 (18,41,67) (Smith 20, Bailey 16, Gross 13)

Newcastle Eagles will meet Guildford Heat in the final of the BBL Trophy after the north east club held off Everton Tigers 88-77 to complete a 176-159 aggregate victory.

The Eagles trailed only briefly during the match and never by more than four points as they defended their six point first leg advantage with relative ease. Trey Moore led all scorers with 26 points for Newcastle.

Andrew Bridge’s three opening the night’s scoring and it led to Eagles controlling the first quarter. Tafari Toney’s nine points helped Newcastle to a 24-18 lead after ten minutes.

Eagles stretched out to 30-20 early in the second quarter before a 17-6 Tigers run gave them their first lead of the match at 36-37. Newcastle responded with a 9-4 burst of their own to close the half 45-41 up.

Tigers enjoyed their best spell during the third quarter when they took a four point lead at 58-62. Trey Moore kept the score close though as the teams entered the final stanza with Everton leading 66-67.

Eagles stepped up their defence in the fourth quarter as Tigers looked to make a run. A 9-0 run put Newcastle 84-75 in front late in the period to seal the win and a trip to the Guildford Spectrum next month.