Newcastle Eagles failed to pull off another dramatic win down the stretch as a rebooted Caledonia Gladiators dumped the men in black out of the SLB Cup.

The battling hosts overturned a 17-point deficit to lead for the first time with fewer than three minutes on the clock.

And it looked like ‘Money’ Mike Okauru and De-Sean Allen-Eikens would reprise their roles as the leading men in another spectacular late, late show.

But gutsy Gladiators had other ideas and Robbie Peers’ new-look roster dug deep to snap this season’s four-game losing streak against the Eagles.

Newcastle had plenty of chances to seal the deal during a tense final two minutes but fatigue played a part as Marc Steutel’s men missed key shots under pressure.

And hauling back another huge deficit clearly took its toll on a team that suddenly finds itself stuck in an unfamiliar rut — a three-game losing streak at odds with this season’s encouraging start.

Okauru added five boards to his Eagles-high 23 points and both Darius Defoe and Cole Long had hot nights offensively.

Seneca Knight dished up five assists and pulled down seven rebounds as the American got to work in the paint.

But the former Valmiera Glass VIA star struggled to impose himself as a scorer — converting just one of nine field goal attempts in 22 minutes.

And despite pouring in 87 points, erratic Newcastle finished just 18 of their 49 two-pointers.

A strongarm second period from the Scots saw Peers’ side outscore the Eagles 29-17 to lead by 16 at the half.

Okauru managed just two points in the opening 20 minutes and Allen-Eikens was equally quiet.

But a Defoe-inspired second half comeback began in earnest after the restart with Newcastle’s wily veteran getting the better of his nonplussed opponents time and time again.

The 21-season veteran forced Malik Dunbar into an unsportsmanlike foul with 3min 20sec remaining in the final quarter — a canny play that trimmed the deficit to just four points.

And 30 seconds later Allen-Eikens forced home a trademark two-pointer to fire the hosts in front for the first time.

With the Vertu Motors Arena faithful on their feet — and dangerman Dunbar fouled out — it looked for all the world that Steutel had masterminded yet another smash-and-grab raid at the death.

But Jared Wilson-Frame emerged as the coolest cat on court to drain a huge three with 16 seconds on the clock and fire Caledonia four points in front.

After Long tipped in with eight seconds to play, Okauru had a chance to take a cup thriller into overtime with the final shot of the fourth quarter.

But the Eagles’ leading scorer saw his fadeaway effort from beyond the arc fall short and Newcastle were left facing a painful Cup exit at the first hurdle.