Cheshire Phoenix can expect the full force of Newcastle Eagles’ new-found defensive intensity as the visitors seek to stretch their winning start to the season tonight.
Marc Steutel’s men bagged a fourth win on the bounce at cross-border rivals Caledonia Gladiators on Friday to sit top of the Super League Basketball Trophy North group.
But offensive-minded Phoenix could prove to be Newcastle’s stiffest test yet as the Eagles face the second of three road trips in just six days.
“Cheshire is a really difficult place to go,” admitted Steutel, fresh from a gutsy 71-66 win at Gladiators’ PlaySport arena.
“They have a way in which they want to play and we have to negate the strengths that allow them to do that.
“Phoenix is a team that can put points on the board fast and a side that’s built on scoring runs.
“It’s our job to slow them down and to make them think.
“It’s a sharp turnaround after getting back from Glasgow in the early hours of Saturday morning but we’ll rest, recover and go again.
“Double header away trips are never easy but we’ll prepare as well as we always do.”
Wednesday’s European North Basketball League opener in Slovakia makes a difficult week even tougher for the men in black.
But for now the focus is on going 5-0 in the Trophy and edging one step closer to the competition’s semi-final stages.
Newcastle are in pole position to make the Final Four following the club’s winning start to another transitional season.
But Steutel is far from satisfied with a series of inconsistent displays and is already demanding more from his unbeaten stars.
“We didn’t like certain elements of our defence in the game against Gladiators at our place,” he added.
“For sure we wanted to clean up our rebounding and at times on Friday I thought we had better intent on that. But we still didn’t achieve what we wanted to.
“We had more focus up there in terms of the guys understanding some of their actions and where the rebounds are likely to be coming from.
“There was a better mental focus and it’s important that the guys are still holding each other accountable.
“It wasn’t where I wanted us to be on Friday but it was better than the previous week.”
It’s a testament to Steutel’s relentless quest for better basketball that the Great Britain playcaller can still find plenty of room for improvement following four straight wins.
And few teams will go to Glasgow this season and restrict the hosts to fewer than 70 points on their own court.
But Steutel knows there were mitigating circumstances behind a hard-fought win and he left Scotland frustrated that his side surrendered a 17-point lead.
“Patrick Whelan being out for Gladiators impacted on their playmaking,” he pointed out. “But when we realised he was out pre-game we wanted to try and really focus on other guys on their roster and do a really good job of playing their tendencies.
“I thought we did that, which was good.”
An even first quarter north of the border hardly hinted at the defensive masterclass which allowed Newcastle to open up big lead towards the half.
At one stage Gareth Murray’s men looked like they would struggle to reach double figures in the second period.
But the hosts rallied either side of the break to haul themselves back into another attritional affair.
And Caledonia closed to within three points of the Eagles with seven seconds on the clock before the men in black sealed another impressive win.
Cole Long played his first competitive minutes following the Canadian’s summer switch to Tyneside and yet again experienced US guard Mike Okauru proved cool under pressure with some clutch buckets.
“I was really pleased with Cole,” added Steutel. “I think we’ve seen snippets against Gladiators and in pre-season to tell us everything we need to know about him as a player.
“Now it’s just about getting Cole integrated and activated back with the group while, at the same time, trying to maintain our momentum. That’s a good challenge for me to have.”
Tonight’s trip to Cheshire tips off at 5.30pm with the action free to view via the DAZN app.
