Week 9 News – 4 Way Tie At The Top – Rocks Up to 8th

Two unblemished home records remained intact on Friday night, as Esh Group Eagles Newcastle went top of the BBL Championship and One Health Sharks Sheffield progressed to the BBL Cup semi-finals.

The Eagles prevailed through overtime in their top-of-the-table clash with Worcester Wolves, fittingly tied at 66 after four quarters of a game in which the teams were rarely separated by more than one basket. The Eagles had looked down-and-out in the fourth quarter, trailing by as many as 11 with six minutes to play, but a late salvo saw Malik Cooke score two three-pointers before Paul Gause tied the game on the buzzer.

The Eagles stormed the overtime period as Gause opened with consecutive triples and Cooke added another in an 11-0 surge. It was a 22 point swing in nine minutes that the visitors could not recover from, the Eagles ending up 86-74 victors.

Meanwhile, in the BBL Cup, One Health Sharks Sheffield progressed to a semi-final date with the Eagles after beating their North-East neighbours, Durham Wildcats, 70-58 at the English Institute of Sport.

The 2011 winners dominated the opening of the game, leading 15-2 early on, but were pegged back to a tie at 50 heading into the fourth quarter. The Sharks started as they finished, returning to their stern defence to hold the Wildcats scoreless for six minutes of the decisive period, while scoring the first nine points themselves, including six for Patrick Horstmann.

That was enough to see the game out as Horstmann finished with a double-double of 10 points and 12 rebounds, while Jeremie Simmons led all scorers with 19 points.

Durham Wildcats and Glasgow Rocks celebrated wins in the British Basketball League (BBL) on Saturday, while Plymouth University Raiders and Birmingham Knights ended up on the losing end.

In the first game of the day, Wildcats registered a nerve-racking 72-67 home win in an extremely close game against Raiders. The Durham club, led by RJ Evans, who had 14 points, came from behind in the fourth quarter to improve to a 5-5 record.

Meanwhile, EJ Harrison and Gareth Murray combined for 33 points, as Rocks eased past Knights in the second half, taking a 88-60 victory. The hosts started the game str

London Lions and One Health Sharks Sheffield both moved level with Esh Group Eagles Newcastle at the top of the BBL Championship after victories on Sunday evening.

The Sharks needed an extra period to see off Manchester Giants but they did so in some style as they shut out the home side and scored 12 points of their own on the way to a 91-79 win. BJ Holmes scored seven points and Patrick Horstmann five as Sharks eventually eased home.

David Aliu, who earlier had drained the three that sent the match into overtime with 13 seconds to play, led all scorers for Giants with 28 points.

At the Copper Box the Lions won the second quarter 33-10 to open up an unassailable half time lead over Surrey United. The Lions were led by 23 points in just under 23 minutes off the bench by Nick Freer. United’s Brandon McGill had an impressive debut with 21 points.

EJ Harrison connected with five three-pointers – four in the third quarter – as Glasgow Rocks beat Cheshire Phoenix 102-90 in the north-west. The Rocks blew the game open in the third quarter with their first 18 points of the stanza all coming from beyond the arc.

It proved too much in the end for Cheshire, although Victor Moses led all scorers with 31 points in another all-action display by the big man.