A dramatic game of basketball down at the Mattioli Arena Leicester on Sunday went in the end to the hometown Riders who came from a double-digit deficit in the first half to turn the game around in the second.

For the Newcastle Eagles and Head Coach Marc Steutel they would have travelled home wondering exactly what went wrong in that second twenty minutes after they had looked in control in the first twenty.

It was seventh v eighth in the standings, and it was Leicester in the higher placing that took their record to nine wins and eight losses whilst Newcastle are now a further game behind on six wins and 13 losses.

The Eagles really needing to start firing soon if they are to give themselves hope for the end of the season and the play-off positions and race. Days like this show so much of their good side but also that dark side that also can rear its head.

Coach Steutel talks a lot about consistency of performance and about needing to play for a full forty minutes every game. That is perhaps one of the biggest inconsistencies his obviously talented side seemingly continue to show on a consistent basis.

The Eagles went into Leicester on the back of their huge 128-68 ENBL win on Friday night in the Vertu Arena on Friday night against BK Olomoucka of the Czech Republic. A win where they had played some of their best basketball of the season.

It seemed early on in Sunday’s game that they were taking the confidence and momentum gained from that win into this one. A very solid start particularly at the defensive end gave them openings at the offensive end that they took.

Deion Hammond knocking down a couple of early triples and Maceo Jack getting into his stride early as Eagles established an eight-point gap halfway through the first. Riders did stem the flow and come back a little but after the opening ten minutes the Eagles led by 24-18.

The second quarter was a real dogfight with Eagles still controlling the game and continuing to lead but Leicester not going away. Indeed, with Ray’Sean Taylor coming off the bench to favourable effect Newcastle at one stage led by ten points at 45-35.

They had forced Leicester into multiple turnovers and restricted their outside shooting whilst making enough shots of their own. But a late Riders run tied the period at 23-23 and meant Eagles led by six at the half.

As the second half opened the Eagles had to weather the Leicester storm. Eagles had been so effective in the first twenty minutes that Leicester had never been in front. But a determined home start to the third period saw them not only comeback but they also took a lead.

Newcastle with Jack continue to score the ball well and Taylor having a big third period though held firm as the two sides traded baskets in an explosive offensive quarter that saw 65 points shared between the two sides.

Riders taking it by three at 34-31 but Eagles still three-up at 78-75 going into the final ten minutes. It was then that Leicester prevailed and Eagles had to produce a massive effort just to stay in the game as down the stretch Riders made the bigger plays at both ends.

With 1 minute 16 seconds to go it looked all over for Newcastle as they were down 100-93 but they were not out. Somehow with Hammond, Taylor, and Jack they stopped the Riders gallop and actually levelled the game with 13.2 seconds left.

Donald Carey wriggled free and with a second left on the clock put the home side back in front. Newcastle had a time-out which gave Cole Long an opportunity to win the game with a triple at the buzzer, but it rimmed out and sadly it meant another tough defeat for the Eagles.