Giants Give Eagles A Proper Scare

A 7-2 burst from the home side saw them leap out to an early 10-4 lead.  They maintained that advantage for the majority of the opening quarter, but the visitors finished strongly as a 7-0 run gave the Eagles a 17-20 lead with two minutes remaining.

Spurred on by the home crowd however, the Giants ended the quarter by scoring four of the final six points to reduce the deficit back to a single point at 21-22 at the end of the opening term.

In the second quarter, a Charles Smith three-pointer to open the period sparked an Eagles 8-2 start to take the score out to 23-30.

The home side kept themselves in the game as they picked up some easy baskets midway through the quarter to reduce the gap slightly down to four points at 33-37, but a Damon Huffman basket for the Eagles saw them finish the half strongly as they secured a 13-2 run, including two big three-pointers from Joe Chapman, to close out the first half and lead 35-50 as much the happier side heading into the locker rooms.

In the second half, a 9-2 start for the Eagles to the third quarter saw them extend their lead out to 37-59.  A David Watts three-pointer for the Giants saw them start to claw their way back into the game, and they did so in style as they enjoyed a 14-0 burst to trim the deficit back to just eight points at 51-59 with two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Another Watts basket got the Giants even closer at 55-61, but a Chapman three-pointer to end the third period saw the Eagles leading 55-64 heading into the final stanza.

In the final period, the Giants tried valiantly to get themselves back into the contest and reduced the deficit significantly as back-to-back three-pointers from Devan Bailey and Watts got the home side back to within a point at 74-75 with four minutes remaining in the contest.  That was as close as the Giants would get in the game as the Eagles extended their lead out to 77-87 off the back of a 12-3 tear with less than a minute remaining.

Even though the Giants were able to close the gap slightly, it was not enough to overturn it as the Eagles ran out winners.