Newcastle Eagles 88 (28,40,61) (Moore 21, Bridge 16, Toney 15)
Marshall MK Lions 72 (13,35,49) (New/Obazuaye 17, Eddie 16)
Newcastle Eagles maintained their two point advantage at the summit of the BBL Championship table thanks to a comfortable 88-72 victory over the Marshall MK Lions at the Metro Radio Arena on Friday night. The Eagles led from tip to buzzer and opened with a 9-0 run followed up by a 12- 2 burst to lead 21-7 midway through the opening quarter. The Eagles extended their lead to fifteen points at 28-13 at the end of the first quarter. In the second period, the Eagles maintained their advantage and lead 38-28 midway through the quarter. Seven points from Thomas Eddie helped the Lions back into the game and a 9-2 burst to close out the first half saw the visitors trailing by five points at 40-35 at the half. In the second half, the Eagles started in much the same vein as the first and a 10-0 start to the third period took the score out to 50-35. Both sides traded baskets for the remainder of the period, but it was the Eagles who held the advantage at 61-49 going into the final stanza. In the final quarter an 11-4 burst from the home side broke the game open to give the home side their biggest lead of the game at 81- 60. The Sharks attempted to get themselves back into the game, but the Eagles were able to hold on for the comfortable victory. Trey Moore led all scorers in the game with 21 points for the Eagles, while a combination of Michael New and Jason Obazuaye led the scoring for the Lions with 17 points a-piece.