Phoenix enjoy another trip to Tyneside
BBL Championship
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 83-100 Cheshire Phoenix (19-26, 39-45, 63-72)
Sport Central is turning into a happy hunting ground for Cheshire Phoenix as they followed up their BBL Cup Quarter-Finals success in Newcastle earlier in the season, by clipping the wings of the Eagles yet again.
This time Cheshire may have derailed the title hopes of the home side, with Fab Flournoy and the Eagles stumbling again in front of their own fans and falling to a damaging fifth league loss of the campaign.
Leading scorers – Nimley 26, Williams.K 15, Defoe 14, Paige 14 (Eagles), Riley 26, Jackman 18, May-Thompson 18, Gettys 18 (Phoenix)
Turning point – The Eagles got it back to six points in the third quarter and a comeback looked likely, but Cheshire choked off the prospect with an 11-4 run either side of the last quarter break and never looked back.
Key stat – Phoenix torched the Eagles from two-point range where they dropped a red-hot 60%.
Game hero(es) – Take your pick. Orlan Jackman had 18 points and 11 rebounds against his ex-employers, CJ Gettys beat up the Eagles as well with 18 points and 10 boards, while Malcolm Riley was inspired. He accumulated 26 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists – shooting a jaw-dropping 75% in the process.