Cheshire Jets 76
(17, 41, 55) (Schneck 22, Greer 20, Bell 10, Gayle 10)
Newcastle Eagles 75
(16, 38, 50) (Moore 29, Lockhart 12, Chapman 11)
In high drama at Northgate Arena, ex Cheshire Jets star Trey Moore experienced the ultimate bitter-sweet return to his former club after he amassed an impressive 29 points but missed a crucial free-throw in the dying seconds and then a last ditch opportunity to win a thrilling game for Newcastle Eagles at Northgate Arena.
The result resigned the reigning BBL title holders to a third loss in four BBL Championship games and means they are still winless on the road this season in the league while at the opposite end of the spectrum, a delighted Cheshire Jets remain unbeaten home and away in the Championship.
The hosts raced out of the blocks and having started with a triple from Gareth Murray, they caused Eagles player-coach Fab Flournoy to call a time-out just three minutes into the game as they rattled off the first seven points of the contest.
The visitors meanwhile had already turned the ball over a couple of times, one of the concerns in their previous game against Rocks earlier in the weekend – even if they did come out with the win.
The time-out paid dividends for Flournoy and by the end of the first period, his team had worked their way back to within one point of the Jets at 17-16.
Much of the Eagles sluggish start was due to former Jets playmaker and offensive weapon Trey Moore getting into early foul trouble and having to sit down for the visitors.
The second quarter was a similar story with the Jets just shading matters and as the teams left the court to head for the locker rooms, it was a one shot game at 41-38 to the home team.
In a similar story to the start of the first half, the Eagles struggled offensively at the beginning of the second half and could only muster two scores in almost six minutes. That meant the Jets were able to manoeuvre their way to a 49-42 advantage after a basket by Quemont Green.
The hosts still led by seven at 67-60 heading into the final six minutes of the game but things got tense when the visitors finally came alive and scored eight unanswered points to take the lead with a couple of minutes to play.
It seemed like the worse possible time for Jets to suffer an offensive drought and it set up a nerve shredding climax. With the scores tied at 74-74 with only 11 seconds left on the game clock, Trey Moore scored but also missed a free-throw and that was absolutely critical.
For rather fittingly, MVP Matt Schneck stroked home two free-throws after being fouled by Andrew Bridge and while the home team had to sweat it out as Moore failed with the last shot of the game, it was a truly fantastic and thrilling victory.
