Eagles keep the Wolves from the door – just!

BBL Championship Friday 28 September 2012

Newcastle Eagles 81 (Defoe 26, Chapman 17, Huffman 17)

Worcester Wolves 73 (Ocitti 19, (Owumi 16, Thomson 12)

Starting Fives

Newcastle Eagles: Darius Defoe, Kareem Maddox, Charles Smith, Joe Chapman, Damon Huffman

Worcester Wolves: Arturas Masiulis, Stanley Ocitti, Carlos Fernandez, Alex Owumi, Stuart Thomson

Newcastle Eagles continued their 100% start to the season winning 81-73 last night at Sport Central, but not before receiving a scare from a spirited Worcester side, who travelled without key point guard, Sherrad Prezzie-Blue, still waiting for his UK work permit.

The Eagles’ preparations for this game had been severely hampered with very limited training due to injuries to four starters; Charles Smith strained calf muscle, Joe Chapman bruised knee, Damon Huffman groin strain and Kareem Maddox knee tendonitis. This didn’t stop them from exploding to a 27-15 lead, however, at the end of the first quarter, with Darius Defoe’s inside game and his 9 early points catching the eye.

The home side stretched their lead to 16 points as the visitors’ key men Masiulis, Ocitti and Olumi fell into early foul trouble. Wolves did manage to peg the Eagles back to 43-31 at the break but at that stage anything other than a comfortable home win looked unlikely.

The second half continued in much the same vein as the impressive Chapman drained a trademark 3-point shot to extend the lead to a game high 17 points at 50-33. The visitors however, ended the third stanza on a 9-2 run, including triples by Stuart Thomson, the younger brother of former Eagles’ star Andy, and Stanley Ocitti to enter the final period ten points adrift at 60-50.

If the Wolves had snapped at the Eagles heels in the first three quarters, they ripped them to shreds with a devastating 3 point run to take the lead at 64-63. This set up a nail biting finish for the home crowd who had been expecting a far more comfortable conclusion to the game. Wolves ended the game with first Masiulis, then Ocitti fouling out which took the life out of their fightback. The Eagles pulled away to a 81-73 victory with Smith and Huffman sinking vital threes for a hard earned victory in a typical rollercoaster of an early season game.

Play of the game

Damon Huffman almost made my play of the game last week and he’s gone one step further this week. His offensive skills are fast making him a fans’ favourite in Newcastle, but his work ethic will be vindicating Flournoy’s decision to bring him to the UK.

Huffman’s full length dive across the court, making an unlikely defensive play, encapsulated his all action performance. If he’s putting it on the line like this every week he’ll fit in just fine at Sport Central.

Game MVP

Eagles’ big man, Darius Defoe, racked up 26 points and 8 assists in an impressive performance against a physically imposing Wolves side, including 7ft centre Arturas Masiulis. Darius was consistently a thorn in the visitors’ side and he is shaping up to be the dominant centre the Eagles always hoped he would be.

Game quotes

Fab Flournoy, “Darius is really coming on. I have to give him a special mention. He’s been working out every day, getting better and better, stronger and stronger. He’s an absolute beast on the basketball court. He’s ascended into being one of the veteran players, picking up the youngsters and showing them the ropes at Newcastle. It makes me feel old to see Darius doing that and carrying on the legacy.”

Next Up

Saturday 29 September Worcester Wolves v Manchester Giants 7pm Worcester University

Friday 5 October Manchester Giants v Newcastle Eagles 7.30pm Wright Robinson College, Manchester