Having carried over a 47-point lead from the first leg, Eagles sealed the deal with a 104-99 victory against Plymouth University Raiders on the road at Plymouth Pavilions, with Andrew Thomson pacing the winners with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Meanwhile, Riders overcame a slow start and powered through to an 80-63 victory over Lions after dominating in the second half. Trayvonn Wright had 21 points, but Neil Watson stole the show with a triple-double of 18 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists for the winning side.
In the only Championship game of the day, Manchester Giants moved into the eighth spot in the BBL Championship after defeating the fourth-placed Cheshire Phoenix 93-85. Stefan Gill scored a team-high 23 points, with Ingus Bankevics adding 20 points and eight assists.
This Giants win now pushes the Sheffield Sharks out of the 2014/15 Play-Off places.
| Wednesday 25 February 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| BBL Championship – Result | |||
| London Lions | 67 – 75 | Glasgow Rocks | 19:30 |
BBL Trophy Semi Final 1st Leg – Fixture
| Friday 27 February 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| BBL Championship – Fixtures | |||
| Bristol Flyers | 71 – 47 | Leeds Force | 19:30 |
| Durham Wildcats | 76 – 99 | Cheshire Phoenix | 19:30 |
| Worcester Wolves | 87 – 65 | Sheffield Sharks | 19:30 |
| Newcastle Eagles | 126 – 79 | Plymouth Raiders | 19:30 |
BBL Trophy Semi Final 1st Leg – FixtureBBL Trophy Semi Final 2nd Leg – Fixture
| Sunday 1 March 2015 | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| BBL Championship – Fixture | |||
| Manchester Giants | 93 – 85 | Cheshire Phoenix | 18:00 |
| Leicester Riders | 80 – 63 | London Lions | 18:00 |
| Plymouth Raiders | 99 – 104 | Newcastle Eagles | 16:00 |
| P | Team | PL | W | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Esh Group Eagles Newcastle | 25 | 23 | 2 | 46 |
| 2 | Worcester Wolves | 27 | 21 | 6 | 42 |
| 3 | Leicester Riders | 25 | 20 | 5 | 40 |
| 4 | Cheshire Phoenix | 27 | 19 | 8 | 38 |
| 5 | Glasgow Rocks | 24 | 13 | 11 | 26 |
| 5 | London Lions | 24 | 13 | 11 | 26 |
| 7 | Bristol Flyers | 29 | 12 | 17 | 24 |
| 8 | Manchester Giants | 26 | 11 | 15 | 22 |
| 9 | Sheffield Sharks | 25 | 10 | 15 | 20 |
| 10 | Durham Wildcats | 27 | 8 | 19 | 16 |
| 11 | Plymouth University Raiders | 23 | 7 | 16 | 14 |
| 12 | Leeds Force | 28 | 7 | 21 | 14 |
| 13 | Surrey United | 26 | 4 | 22 | 8 |
| 2014/15 League Table | |||||
Quote of the Week
Durham are a tough team to play. They are well-coached and I’m sure they will be prepared for us but we simply need to just focus on ourselves.Phoenix Forward David Aliu
Five players scored in double digits, as Glasgow Rocks extended their winning streak to four games in the BBL Championship with a 75-67 victory against London Lions on the road at the Copper Box in the mid-week fixture.
The visitors from Glasgow enjoyed a better start, breaking away to an early 14-9 lead after John Bunyan’s three-pointer. Neither side managed to establish control of the game in the first half, with Lions cutting the deficit to 35-32 before the interval.
Early in the third quarter, Reggie Middleton had to leave the game after picking up two technical fouls and the hosts took advantage of the opportunity and shortly gained a one point edge at the end of the period at 53-52.
However, Rocks began the final frame with a 7-0 run to jump back in front and a further 11-3 stretch saw the gap increase to 70-59 halfway through the quarter. Although Lions scraped back to make it a two possession game with under a minute to go, Rocks managed to hold on and sealed the win from the stripe.
John Bunyan led the winners with 15 points, Danny Huffor chipped in with 14 points and seven rebounds, while Kieron Achara and Tayo Ogedengbe added 13 points apiece for Rocks.
Meanwhile, Zayre Taylor collected a game-high 28 points for Lions. Andrew Sullivan and Makal Stibbins collected 12 and 10 points respectively.
Newcastle Eagles have one foot in the BBL Trophy Final following a ruthless 126-79 semi-final first-leg victory against Plymouth Raiders at Sport Central on Friday.
The table-toppers took the lead inside the first two minutes on back-to-back baskets from Rahmon Fletcher and never relinquished their advantage, racking up an 11th consecutive win.
Three-pointers from Ben Mockford and Brent Benson kept Raiders in touch by the end of the first quarter, but Eagles pressed home their advantage in the second period as Charles Smith made his presence felt all over the floor.
Well aware this was just the first leg, Eagles kept their foot on the throttle to run up a huge score, and while Andre Jones and Scott Martin may draw the plaudits with 25 points each, Fletcher was at the heart of everything for Fab Flournoy’s side, making 12 assists.
Jay Marriott’s men were overwhelmed across the board, although Pierre Hampton was their top scorer on 18 points, meaning they require a herculean effort to reach next month’s final in Glasgow in the return leg on Sunday.
Worcester Wolves returned to form with an 87-65 BBL Championship success against Sheffield Sharks at home on Friday.
Paul James’ side suffered their heaviest defeat of the season against Glasgow Rocks in their previous league game, but produced a resounding response to overcome Sharks.
The Sheffield club have now lost six straight games and risk slipping out of the BBL Play-off positions if other results go against them this weekend.
Wolves meanwhile improve to a 21-6 record to return to second place.
Robert Thurman was the star man for the home side, scoring 22 points off 66 per cent shooting while reeling in an incredible 20 rebounds.
This handed his team the initiative in one of the game’s key battlegrounds as they led from early in the first quarter.
A Thurman dunk underlined his team’s dominance, opening up a 29-point third-quarter advantage and while Nick Lewis did his best to inspire a comeback with 12 points and nine boards from the bench, Wolves never looked like letting this one slip.
Team-mate Chavis Holmes matched Thurman’s scoring effort and Jamal Williams added 16 in a victory that will likely restore confidence to the title contenders.
Cheshire Phoenix produced a stunning start to the second half to down Durham Wildcats 99-76 in the BBL Championship at Newton Aycliffe on Friday.
John Coffino’s side suffered a shock defeat to Leeds Force last time out and trailed by nine points at half-time, following a positive reaction from Wildcats to their own reverse to Bristol Flyers.
But the American coach’s words at the break had the desired effect as Demond Watt scored the first three baskets of the second half followed by a Dustin Salisbery three-pointer, as Phoenix went on a 14-0 tear.
This gave the visitors complete control and knocked the stuffing out of their opponents, with Phoenix outscoring Wildcats 36-10 in the period.
Coffino’s men continued their aggressive approach in the fourth quarter and managed to extend their lead with consistent interior scoring, thanks in no small part to a 31-point, 11-rebound master class from Demond Watt.
Salisbery added 20 points, with four successful efforts from deep while David Aliu maintained his fine form with 15 as Phoenix improve to a 19-7 record.
Wildcats got 20 points each from John Puk and Fran Urli while Ralph Bucci had 13 rebounds, but it was not enough to prevent a fifth straight defeat.
Bristol Flyers frustrated Leeds Force to claim a 71-47 victory at home on Friday, which could prove key in the battle for a place in the BBL Play-offs.
Both teams came into the game off the back of impressive victories last time out and with heightened hopes of extending their first season the top-flight.
But it was Andreas Kapoulas’ side who left with the points, and the all-important head-to-head tie-breaker, after beating Force for the second time this season, thanks to defiant defence.
There was little to pick between the sides in an even and cautious first period. But Matt Newby’s men were limited to just four points in the second quarter as Flyers forged ahead.
Force improved after half-time, but connecting on just 25 per cent of their shots from the field was never going to help their cause, and the visitors eventually fell to a third defeat in four.
Flyers have now won four games in a row and improve to 12-17, good enough for seventh spot in the standings.
Greg Streete thrilled the sell-out home crowd with 26 points and 14 rebounds as Alif Bland added 12 points and eight boards.
Force were paced by 18 points from Will Hall, who started on the bench.
Fab Flournoy, Library Photo by Dave Moore.
There was little doubt that Esh Group Eagles Newcastle would be in the BBL Trophy Final after battering Plymouth University Raiders by 47 points in the first leg, and Eagles set it in stone with a 104-99 win away from home in the second leg of the semi-final tie.
Neither side managed to get an edge after a high-scoring opening quarter, with Eagles up by a single point at 30-29, but it was Raiders who managed to break away to a more significant lead first.
A 12-4 run to round out the second period brought the home side a 59-49 halftime advantage, with Jordan Clarke setting the pace with 15 first-half points. However, Plymouth ran out of steam after the break and a 13-2 run saw Eagles retake the upper hand at 62-61 halfway through the third quarter.
Up 75-72 at the start of the last period, Eagles managed to keep a slight edge all the way and won the second leg as well, with Andrew Thomson leading the way with 22 points and seven rebounds.
Darius Defoe added 18 points and 10 rebounds for Eagles, while Jordan Clarke and Pierre Hampton collected 28 and 26 respectively for Raiders.
Eagles will be making a BBL Trophy Final appearance after a two-year break, and will face the winner of the other semi-final tie between Leicester
Riders and London Lions.
Leicester Riders pulled away late in the first leg of the BBL Trophy semi-final, defeating London Lions 80-63 at the Sir David Wallace Sports Centre to build a 17-point edge ahead of the return leg in London next week.
The visitors from the capital started the game encouragingly and led by as many as 13 points in the opening quarter at 21-8. However, Riders managed to change the tide and tied things up at 40-all at the halftime break.
Leicester carried over the momentum into second half as well, and jumped in front to a 60-52 lead heading into the final period.
Although the same six-point margin separated the sides with five minutes remaining, Riders made a serious statement for place in the BBL Trophy Final, finishing the game with a 15-4 run to increase the gap to 17 points.
Trayvonn Wright led Riders in scoring with 21 points, Neil Watson had a triple-double performance with 18 points, 10 rebounds and 13 assists, while Rashad Hassan also chipped in with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Zaire Taylor had a team-high 19 points for Lions, Andrew Sullivan scored 16 points, while Makal Stibbins added 15 points and seven boards.
Giants secure a monster win against the Phoenix. Photo by Jack Hinds Photography.
Stefan Gill scored 23 points and Ingus Bankevics added 20 points and eight assists, as Manchester Giants knocked off the fourth-placed Cheshire Phoenix in the BBL Championship on Sunday, taking a 93-85 home win at the Lucozade Soccerdome to move into the eighth spot in the league standings.
Photo by Jack Hinds Photography.
Although the visitors from Cheshire started the game better and had a 51-43 lead at the half, Giants managed to change the situation in the third quarter. Having won the period 27-11, Manchester turned an eight-point deficit into an eight-point lead entering the fourth quarter.
The hosts continued to build their lead in the fourth quarter, making it a double-digit game at 82-72 with four minutes remaining. Although Mike DiNunno had cut the gap to four points with 23 seconds left, but that was as close as Phoenix managed to get.
In addition to terrific performances by Gill and Bankevics, David Watts added a solid 14 points and six rebounds.
Demond Watt had a game-high 31 points and 12 rebounds for Cheshire, Dustin Salisbery added 16 points, while Adrien Sturt chipped in with 12 points and nine boards.
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