Newcastle Eagles bounced back in some style on Friday night in Leicester to get back to winning ways. A superb all-round team performance based on solid defence and well executed offence saw them take a 101 – 80 win on the road against the winless Riders.
It was the perfect start for Head Coach Marc Steutel’s men as they entered a third consecutive double header weekend. Hopefully, a confidence boosting victory that will take them into Sunday’s clash at Caledonia in great heart.
The Eagles won all four quarters in Friday’s game and were relentless in their pursuit and execution of a pleasing win.
“A positive result on the road. The guys did a really good job of focusing mentally on areas of the game where we wanted to focus on,” said Steutel.
“The mental application and resolve was positive. We tried to be really forceful on the defensive end at times where we were really solid.
“Offensively to have six guys in double figure scoring plus as a team 19 assists and only 6 turnovers. That showed we valued the ball and our decision making was very positive. Offensively there was good balance across the roster.
“To put a 100 on the board was solid and pleased positive and great to get everyone through the game. The biggest thing now is trying to recover.”
Eagles were led by Tavis Smith who had 19 points, Trevond Barnes, and captain Josh Ward-Hibbert had 16 and 15 respectively from the bench and Mitch Clarke had 13. Smith’s fellow starters Cole Long with 13 points and Blondeau Tchoukuiegno with 11 adding their support.
Newcastle move have to re-focus and re-set as they take Saturday at home and rest as much as they can before heading to the Playsport Arena, East Kilbride.
“Caledonia have had an extended break and we’re playing two in 48 hours but obviously a third double header weekend in a row,” the Eagles head coach added.
“We’ve got to try and find a way to dig deep find what’s in the tank.”
“We’ve played Caledonia once in pre-season and once in the League and won but they’ve been improving all the time. They have some firepower in the roster and it’s the first time we’ve seen them since the addition of Isiah Small.
That recruitment of Small has certainly boosted the Gladiators roster and they have had two wins over Sheffield at home and Manchester away since his notable arrival.
“Small definitely adds a dimension to them that they needed. We know it’s a tough place to play,” Steutel concluded.
“We don’t want to look back and say two games in a weekend is a factor. We need to try and make sure again that we really lock in mentally.
“We need to defend the Eagles way, adhere to our scout and really be aggressive on that side of the ball. Hopefully, we get healthy as we know we have a tough task north of the border but one the group is really looking forward to.”
This Newcastle side moved to a 5-win 3 loss record after Friday’s win and a second-place position in the SLB standings at this stage of the season. There is a good deal of promise and anticipation about Steutel’s roster that he will hope can continue on Sunday afternoon at 5pm.
The action is free to watch live on DAZN.
