On a dramatic night in the Vertu Arena it was the away side, Bristol that came away with the spoils after a thrilling game of basketball that will offer many reflections for both sides. It was hard-fought throughout with Eagles just unable to come up with the win in a game that went to overtime.

Newcastle have now lost four of their last five league encounters and overall four games in a row after a December where they looked to have got back on track. The last month of 2025 actually seeing Head Coach Marc Steutel taking the Coach of the Month award.

However, for now, his side have not been able to carry that momentum into 2026 as they continue to look up the standings from a viewpoint they are not enjoying at this stage. There is no doubt that Steutel’s side have talent but it seems consistency is an issue and not just that of their own.

Sometimes no matter how you prepare and whatever you try to execute outside influences can disrupt any amount of planning. Game management is not just about what players put into on court and at times can make a huge difference to an outcome.

On Friday night Newcastle produced a performance of contrasting fortunes. After being down early and at half-time they produced an electrifying third quarter to turn the game around. They then needed an almost unbelievable finish in regulation to force overtime before finally succumbing.

It all meant that Bristol have now visited the Vertu Arena twice in the league and took wins in games that were decided and defined by small margins and not always margins they were able to control. In the four-game series and with two visits to the South West to come Eagles have work to do.

From the first tip the game started tight with neither side early on able to force an advantage. But with Newcastle leading 11-10 after a Ray’Sean Taylor lay-up the Flyers produced a decisive 14-0 run that gave them their biggest lead of the night.

Steutel took a time-out and his players responded. Taylor with two triples and another from Gus Okafor meant Newcastle cut the gap to 20-25 at the end of the first ten minutes. Eagles once again working from a standpoint of having to come from behind.

They continued to battle in the early stages of the second period but couldn’t quite turn the game around. They did get back to within one point at 30-31 before Bristol again hit them with an 8-1 burst. Eagles pulled within four but Flyers netted the last seven points of the half.

It meant a double-digit advantage for the visitors at 37-48 to take into the locker rooms for both sides to talk things over and look to a plan out the final twenty minutes. Eagles with the bigger questions to answer.

And answer them they did in a ten-minute performance in the third that turned the game around and seemed to have given them the advantage. Whatever Steutel and his players discussed brought spectacular results as Newcastle produced at both ends of the floor.

Restricting the visitors to just eight points in the third period whilst hitting seven triples in their 23-point offensive effort, Deion Hammond with three of them, Taylor, Okafor, Maceo Jack and even Manny Kanwei with the others.

It was a dominant response and meant that they led 60-56 going into the final period. Kanwei netted a deuce to give the Eagles a six-point lead but Bristol were not done yet. A 12-point unanswered run swinging the game back in their favour.

From there it looked a likely Flyers win. They still had a six-point lead with only 12 seconds left on the game clock before they imploded. Hammond hitting another triple to bring the Eagles back within three. Then an unsportsmanlike foul given on Taylor as he challenged Jon Anderson looked crucial.

Flyers had a free-throw and possession to come. But Anderson missed the charity stripe opportunity and then his inbounds pass was intercepted by Hammond who found Okafor who in turn found Taylor and the Newcastle guarded swished the triple that took the game to overtime.

Unbelievably the Eagles had only scored six points in the final period until those two dramatic at the death tiples gave them an extra five minutes of game time. Bristol looking shell-shocked that they had thrown away a winning position.

However they rallied again and Anderson atoned with the first four points of overtime to give his side yet another lead. The game went back and forth but the closest Eagles got was when Jack tripled with 20 seconds left to bring Newcastle back within one.

Jonathan Brown though was fouled and made one of two from the line to give his side a two-point gap and then Taylor’s last-gasp triple on the buzzer fell short and the Flyers held on in a dramatic game.

Eagles will look closely at the stats. The were out rebounded 49 to 32 and from two-point range the percentages were 55 to 37 in Bristol’s favour. Eagles did make 18 of 40 3-point attempts which certainly kept them in the game but it wasn’t enough.

The inside game being a factor as for various reasons the Eagles were denied the opportunity to get inside and exert and authority that may have helped their cause. Small margins and decision making not always necessarily of their own making and only six free-throws being awarded.

You have to go back to 25/03/2022 and a game at Sheffield that Eagles lost by twenty points for the last time they only attempted a similar number of efforts from the charity stripe.