Newcastle Eagles felt the full force of Sheffield Sharks’ two-man game as the visitors’ in-form backcourt blitzed the men in black.

Prentiss Nixon and Rodney Chatman III combined for 51 points as the relentless guards kept digging deep to keep Atiba Lyons’ men in front.

And despite winning the battle of the boards and seeing five players hit double figures, Newcastle never looked near their November best.

Nixon and Chatman III bagged more than half of their team’s impressive total as the Eagles’ winless streak stretched to five games.

And the 2025 SLB Trophy finalists must regroup fast with Leicester Riders back in town next Friday.

Sheffield took 16 fewer shots from the field but converted 56 per cent of their opportunities — compared to 41 per cent from the hosts.

And that key statistic proved to be the difference on a night when the Sharks missed 12 free throws and still headed home with an eight-point win.

A full-strength Newcastle roster started strongly but two early fouls for Malcolm Delpeche forced an early tactical switch.

Mike Okauru kept the hosts ahead midway through the first quarter before a 16-3 burst fired Sheffield in front heading into the second period.

Time and time again the Eagles came close to retaking the lead only for Chatman III or Nixon to pull another tough shot out of the bag,

A 12-0 Newcastle second quarter tear reduced the deficit to two points before Chatman’s driving layup halted the home side’s run.

And when Josh Ward-Hibbert levelled the scores at 60-60 with three minutes of the third quarter remaining, Nixon popped up with a two to kill the Eagles’ momentum again.

Sharks led by six heading into the fourth quarter but neither side could find any kind of offensive fluidity at the start of a scrappy final stanza.

Newcastle managed just two points in the opening six minutes before Josh Ward-Hibbert finally forced home a bucket.

But when Nixon hit his sixth triple of the night to open up a nine-point lead with just over three minutes to play, the writing was on the wall for Marc Steutel’s men.

Seneca Knight battled his way to a hard fought double double — adding five assists to his 10 rebounds and 15 points.

And it was Christian James’ accuracy from downtown that kept the Eagles in contention as the guard sank five of his seven three-pointers coming off the bench.

Okauru added 18 points and five rebounds but De’Sean Allen-Eikens was scoreless until the final few seconds when a typically robust three-point play gave home fans some late hope.

And Newcastle need their previously prolific rookie back firing on all cylinders sooner rather than later.