Another nailbiter of a night at the Vertu Motors Arena and another big win for Newcastle Eagles saw Marc Steutel’s men stay in front of fierce rivals Cheshire Phoenix in the race for a top four finish.

Just three weeks after Ben Thomas’s men pulled off a last-gasp 106-103 victory in the North West, two well-matched teams went toe to toe again on Tyneside.

And it took another Herculean offensive effort from top scorers Mike Okauru and Seneca Knight to seal two vital Championship points — and a third win in six days for never-say-die Newcastle.

The US stars combined for 51 points as the hosts dug deep in the wake of an energy-sapping midweek trip to Estonia.

But on a night when five Eagles hit double figures it was Trey Pulliam’s 10 points in four minutes at the start of the second half that broke a typically tight affair wide open.

And had it not been for tenacious former Newcastle favourite Larry Austin Jr, Steutel’s men could well have been home and dry down the stretch.

Happy to play the pantomime villain on his latest return to the North East, the do-it-all guard fell just three assists short of a sensational triple double.

But Austin Jr’s obsession with forcing Pulliam out of his comfort zone appeared to affect the ex-Eagle’s own focus as he missed five of 10 free throws — including a clutch of key buckets from the bonus stripe inside the final few minutes.

Ultimately another dramatic night of Super League Basketball belonged to Knight who added 13 rebounds and three assists to his 24 points.

And team-mate Okauru wasn’t far behind in the hunt for the MVP honours as Money Mike delivered when it mattered most to net another 27 points.

Pulliam (20), Christian James (13) and De’Sean Allen-Eikens (12) kept the scoreboard ticking over at critical stages of an absorbing affair.

But bigs Malcolm Delpeche and Coel Long both deserve huge credit for getting in amongst it in the paint — the former hauling down eight massive rebounds to frustrate a familiarly strongarm Phoenix.

That neither Darius Defoe nor Josh Ward-Hibbert played any part in a significant win was testimony to the mindset of a new group seeking to write its own chapter in the proud history of British basketball’s most successful franchise.

In fact, of the seven players charged with besting Cheshire, only Delpeche had previous experience of the SLB (formerly British Basketball League) until this season.

And yet new leaders are emerging within a locked-in roster that appears determined to add to last month’s Trophy success.

Two robust offensive units couldn’t be separated after a ding-dong first quarter but Phoenix edged in front at the half.

What followed was the Pulliam show as the hosts overturned a 46-44 deficit to lead 56-53 thanks to the SLB rookie’s quick feet and soft hands around the rim.

With Austin Jr ordered to halt Pulliam in his tracks — by whatever means necessary — it was down to Long to extend Newcastle’s lead.

Back-to-back triples from the super-cool Canadian opened up a 66-58 lead and the forward was unfortunate to miss out on a double-digit haul of his own after packing the stat sheet with eight points, four rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

On any other night Steutel might have bemoaned conceding a century of points to the free-scoring Phoenix for the second time in three weeks.

But even he accepted that a week of unforgiving travel was always going to impact on a seven-player rotation that still won the battle of the boards and showed enough grit and determination to get the job done down the stretch.

Cheshire went into the fourth period 12 points down but Thomas’s men fought back to trail by just a point with two minutes on the clock.

The Eagles could have wobbled but nerveless Okauru hit six from six from the free throw line inside the final 40 seconds to calm nerves and cap a memorable win against a Phoenix side that missed 13 of 36 from the bonus stripe.

Steutel’s men now have the weekend to recuperate after a packed schedule of four games in eight days, including the mid-week away win in Estonia that saw them make history and top the ENBL’s Group A.

Next Friday the Caledonia Gladiators make the short trip across the border once again for a special game night as a flavour of the MOBO Awards comes to the Vertu Motors Arena ahead of this months ceremony being hosted in Newcastle. Tickets for the tip-off with live performances and DJ sets are available from the box office.