‘Money’ Mike Okauru cashed in a season-high 40 points to save Newcastle Eagles from a shock defeat before telling stunned team-mates: “You can bank on me!”

The in-form guard carried the men in black on his back for the bulk of a nail biting overtime clash against basement strugglers Caledonia Gladiators.

And Okauru flew home to North Carolina for a well-earned break yesterday insisting shouldering further responsibility doesn’t faze him.

“I saved my guys and I’d gladly do it again,” said Newcastle’s top scorer after he led a phenomenal fightback against the gutsy Gladiators.

“That’s the story. My team-mates trust me, my coach trusts me and I feed off that. I put in the work every day to gain that trust.

“They allow me to be Mike. What you saw against Caledonia was what I try to do every day — go out there, give my all and win games,”

Newcastle needed an extra five minutes to see off Jonny Bunyan’s battling Scots as a nervy clash went down to the wire.

Wildly optimistic pre-match predictions of a Valentine’s Day massacre always looked wide of the mark as the visitors went about their business with steely determination.

And Marc Steutel’s men had to fight back from a seven-point third period deficit just to stay in touch with a Gladiators roster fully focused on upsetting the form book.

“I knew early on that Mike was the man to carry the load and I thought we did a good job of manipulating things to get the most out of him,” said the Eagles’ playcaller.

“But then I look up at the end and he’s got 40 points!

“That’s Mike Okauru for you. He’s one of the most humble scorers I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and there’s nobody who deserves the plaudits more.”

Steutel felt dependable veteran Darius Defoe came a close second after British basketball’s most decorated player stuffed the stat sheet in support of Okauru.

The 40-year-old added seven rebounds, five assists and a block to his 11 points across 31 monstrous minutes.

And Steutel added: “I thought Darius was exceptional,” added Steutel. “He was so impactful on both sides of the ball.

“Defensively he clogged the paint, offensively he hit some traditional Darius Defoe shots and the rest of the time he was the vocal leader we needed out there.

“He didn’t see the floor last Friday but he stayed the course and led this group through what was a very difficult game.

“Darius always leads the group vocally but this was one of those times when we needed him to lead with his actions too.

“I don’t know if I can be proud of a 40-year-old man? But I am!”

Newcastle looked to have seen off Gladiators midway through the final period but the visitors roared back to level with 33 seconds of normal time remaining.

With a gripping encounter tied at 76-76, overtime beckoned and the Eagles needed a nerveless final 90 seconds to steal an 86-81 win.

“I’m not surprised Gladiators gave us that game,” added Okauru. “If you look at the standings, they’re clearly struggling but at this point of the season they’re just trying to give everything they’ve got.

“We knew they’d play hard and go for the win. They had nothing to lose.

“But we had everything to gain. When I signed here, my goal was to win championships and we have three more opportunities.

“We just have to stay consistent, go hard every day in practice and convert that into games.”

While Great Britain playcaller Steutel turns his attention to a Eurobasket double header during the next 10 days — with Czechia due on Tyneside on February 24 — Okauru and co. have been given a well-deserved week off.

Several Newcastle stars are heading home Stateside for some much-needed family time and Okauru was due to touch down in Raleigh, North Carolina, last night.

“I’ll be able to go see my family for a couple of days, get my legs back and return ready to finish out this season strong,” he added.