Match Report: Newcastle Eagles 95-91 Leicester Riders
Newcastle Eagles secure slim lead in semi-final affair against the Leicester Riders, as they increase their winning streak to six games.
The Eagles dominated the first half of the contest and Marc Steutel’s men went into halftime with a commanding 17-point lead. The Riders would make it much more competitive in the second half lead by forward Zach Jackson who finished with a game leading 24 points, but it would not be enough to claim back the lead as Seneca Knight’s team high 23 points including a clutch last minute three pointer helped secure Newcastle’s 4-point win.
Newcastle came into the game riding a five-win streak after a remarkable come from behind win vs Romanian side CSO Voluntari in ENBL action. The second leg of this SLB trophy tie will be played in Leicester on the 22nd of December.
The Eagles started the first quarter well and took an early 12-6 lead mainly scoring off Leicester turnovers. Rob Paternostro’s Riders did fight back and would win the first quarter 23-21 with Jaylin Hunter hitting a three five seconds before the buzzer.
Marc Steutel’s team took over in the second quarter as they started it on a 13-2 run triggering a Leicester timeout, the Riders couldn’t stop turning the ball over in the first half and Newcastle had amassed eight steals by halftime.
Leicester were able to kick back into gear on offence again through Jaylin Hunter, however they could not stop a relentless outburst of scoring for the Eagles who would score 38 points in the quarter capped off by a Cole Long three giving them a 59-42 lead at half-time.
The Riders did come out much stronger in the second half particularly on the defensive end as the Eagles’ lead was cut to 11 with six minutes left to play in the third. Leicester’s Zach Jackson went into takeover mode to end the quarter scoring an impressive six points and the quarter would end 76-67 Eagles.
The fourth quarter was very back and forth with both teams trading stops and buckets. Leicester then picked up some momentum and were able to make it a one possession game with three minutes to go, the Riders dominated the glass all game finishing with 14 more boards than the Eagles this was a big factor in the Riders’ fightback.
With just a minute to go and the Eagles’ lead at one, Leicester had the chance to take the lead, but Ethan wright couldn’t get his three-point shot to fall and then Seneca Knight would drain the dagger three down the other end, giving the Eagles a 95-91 advantage heading into the second leg.
The big story of the game was the turnover battle as Rob Paternostro’s men had 17 giveaways compared to the eagles seven. Newcastle were also able to get to the line a lot where they shot an impressive 22/23. The second leg of the tie will take place on Sunday the 22nd.
