Not for the first time this season gritty Newcastle Eagles closed out a nerve-jangling win down the stretch to topple fierce rivals Cheshire Phoenix on Tyneside.

The visitors headed to the Vertu Motors Arena with a 2-0 record over the men in black after both teams qualified for the Trophy semi-finals.

But a near flawless first half from the fired-up hosts laid the foundation for a sixth win in seven for Marc Steutel’s men — maintaining Newcastle’s stranglehold on second spot in the Championship.

The Eagles bulldozed Cheshire into submission for the first 20 minutes with a combination of some stunning offence and stifling defence.

Ben Thomas’s men had no answer to a fluid Newcastle team coming off Tuesday’s big win in Warsaw and trailed 60-38 at the half.

But the break came at the worst time possible for the energised Eagles and the old adage that basketball is a game of momentum and runs rang true after the restart.

Phoenix — given a free hit and seemingly with nothing more than pride to play for — roared back into contention despite both former Newcastle favourite Larry Austin Jr and RJ Eytle-Rock picking up fourth fouls in the 23^rd minute.

And a brace of Cameron Holden free throws two minutes from time saw Cheshire lead for the first time since the opening period.

But a huge Christian James triple — on his homecourt debut — an outrageous De’Sean Allen-Eikens dunk and cool shooting from the bonus stripe stopped a resurgent Phoenix in their tracks.

Newcastle are just two points off top spot with a 4-1 league record and a jubilant Steutel said: “Let’s talk about 94 points scored against a really tough team.

“We didn’t have a lot of prep or a lot of rest going into that game and endured a long travel day coming back from Poland midweek.

“Let’s talk about having some resilience. Basketball is a game of runs and we didn’t like the second half and conceding 15 turnovers. We want to be better.

“But let’s talk about putting 94 points on the board, six guys in double figures and 27 assists over 40 minutes.

“Everybody has to be realistic and understand that you can’t maintain that first half level of play over four quarters against a good team that’s going to go on a run.

“Are we happy with how they went on a run? No. Are there some really controllable things that we can do better? For sure.

“But overall — after a long trip to Europe — I’m pleased with that performance and looking forward to the visit of Voluntari on Tuesday.”

James already seems to have slotted into a key role and came away from his Super League Basketball debut with a handy 15 points, six assists and three rebounds off the bench.

Both the in-form Seneca Knight (18 points and 11 rebounds) and inspirational Great Britain international Josh Ward-Hibbert (15 points and 11 rebounds) bagged impressive double doubles.

And Allen-Eikens, Mike Okauru, Jordan Spencer and Cole Long all plundered double-figure points on a night when Phoenix had no answer to Newcastle’s destructive offence.

The Eagles outrebounded Cheshire 44-35 despite big men Malcolm Delpeche and Darius Defoe playing limited minutes ahead of Tuesday’s Voluntari showdown.

And Newcastle’s smart recruitment this season means Steutel now has the quality and the combinations to tailor his roster to different opponents at specific times.

With Will Neighbour still to come, the Eagles have never had a stronger roster in the Steutel era.

But European North Basketball League heavyweights Voluntrai look set to provide this season’s toughest test yet for the high-flying Tynesiders.

Tickets for Tuesday night’s ENBL game and next Friday’s SLB Trophy Semi-Final first leg against the Riders are on sale now from the box office.