Any suggestion that the defeat and long trip to and from Bulgaria was going to give Newcastle Eagles a Christmas hangover was emphatically blown away on Friday night at the Vertu Arena. The Eagles made it a very Black Friday indeed for the Leicester Riders.

A superb 98-85 victory in a great game of top-flight basketball was full of drama, fight, and cohesive effort from both sides. But in the end, it was Newcastle who held sway to give them and their faithful fans an early Christmas present with a cracker of a performance.

Not that there was much festive spirit sprinkled through the forty minutes as both teams went at each hammer and tong all game long. In the first quarter in particular there were unsportsmanlike fouls and technical’s dished out by the refereeing crew.

Travis Evee of Riders becoming very much the game’s pantomime villain after clashing with Eagles’ Mitch Clarke and causing players from both sides to come together. Then veteran Captain Darius Defoe defending ‘his’ house against Aaron Menzies also sparked proceedings.

It all seemed to fire Newcastle and definitely their fans up as the home side made a great start to the game showing that a long travel, they may have had but ready they certainly were. With Maceo Jack starting strongly Newcastle established an early 9-4 lead.

Jack kept going having 20-points by the half getting his side the control they needed to set a platform. Then home debutant USA point guard Terrell Burden announced his arrival in Newcastle. His first shot was a 3-point made basket that also saw him fouled in the act of making the bucket.

He dusted himself down, made the free-throw and the Eagles led 30-21 after a breathless first period full of incident. Burden certainly looked as if he could and will be an important new piece in the Newcastle jigsaw with a very promising first home outing.

Sharing the ball throughout with Ray’Sean Taylor and Clarke the Eagles had the bullets loaded for others to pull the trigger and constantly seemed to be able to find the right man at the right time. Their shooting efforts on the night bringing the eventual reward with a great win.

The second quarter was much more even with Donald Carey desperately striving to keep Leicester in the game with constant visits to the free-throw line and netting with consistency. The Eagles though just sneaked the second quarter 25-24 to take a ten-point lead into half-time.

The SLB Championship’s top scorer RaeQuan Battle of Leicester had been kept quiet in the first half but hit his straps big style as the second half unfolded. With Carey continuing his prompting Leicester upped their defence and held Newcastle to only ten points in the third period.

They managed to net eighteen of their own and were now right back in the game. As the final quarter opened, they finally got level at 67-67 for the first time since the ball was tipped off in the first. Newcastle though were in no mood to let them dictate and countered again.

A fantastic 13-2 run broke the game open once again. Cole Long in particular benefitting from the guard play of Burden and Taylor to hit three triples in that run and four in the period overall. Clarke who had been in foul trouble came on late and nailed another triple. It was enough.

Leicester had slowed Jack down but had no answer to Long’s long-range accuracy, the Canadian knocking down five of his six triple attempts and showing the depth his side now seem to have. It was a terrific all-round team performance from Newcastle with five players in double figures.

The rest all played their part as Newcastle shrugged off any fatigue they may have felt, weathered the third period storm, and flew back into offensive action in the final quarter. A fifth domestic win in their last six domestic games certainly sent everyone in Newcastle colours home in a happy mood.

Head Coach Marc Steutel’s players can now enjoy their Christmas break, rest, and recuperate and then turn their attentions to a clash on Sunday, December 28 against Caledonia Gladiators. A win in that fixture will make it a very satisfying festive season for a side continuing to grow and believe.