Eagles keep the Wolves at Bay

Newcastle Eagles 85 Worcester Wolves 84
BBL Championship Friday 6th April 2012

Throw a bunch of Eagles and Wolves together and you might expect the feathers and fur to fly and we got that and a whole lot more in this edge of the seat top of the table clash. The play at times might not have been of a standard befitting sides occupying the top two places in the Championship table but they served up a holiday treat this Good Friday for the fans at Sport Central.

A last gasp tip in from Andrew Thomson sparked celebrations from the home fans as the BBL Championship is now within touching distance for the Newcastle Eagles. It was the icing on the cake of another solid performance from the reliable big man as he racked up 12 points, 16 rebounds and 5 assists. Charles Smith led all scorers with 25 points and 9 rebounds with Richie Gordon shining for the visitors with 23 points and 11 assists.

The first stanza offered meagre fare for the Sky Sports cameras as the visitors appeared intent on setting the record for most air balls in one quarter of basketball. At 22-11 after 10 minutes a beat up Eagles were stumbling along with apparent ease as the Wolves rained a series unsuccessful three point shots on the home basket. Yet it was the Eagles who found themselves on the back foot as Worcester turned their game around in the second period going on the charge culminating in a 38-38 stalemate at the half.

In a game littered with technicals, the real fireworks started in the third quarter when a disputed offensive foul called on Paul Gause resulted in three technicals being issued to the ex-Seton Hall man and him having to be escorted to the locker room. Up to that point Gause had been by some distance his side’s most potent offensive weapon but as has so often been the case in his BBL rookie season, his game time was severely limited by his high foul count. At this stage with Newcastle down to a six man rotation, several of whom playing with big foul numbers due in part to a series of perplexing calls, added to a points deficit the prospect of successive defeats was looming large. The on and off court excitement ignited the home crowd into a playoff atmosphere as they roared their side onto an 8-0 run closing the penultimate quarter one point to the good at 65-64.

The game hung by a thread and although the Eagles led by 5 with a minute to go it was far from dead and the visitors tied it all up at 81-81 with a monster Kazlauskas 3 point shot with 44 seconds to go. Another big play from Prezzie-Blue, this time with 12 seconds remaining left Wolves ahead at 83-84 forcing Dave Forrester to call a time out. The ensuing play seemed to involve all 10 players jostling around the Worcester basket. Everyone’s hands were in the honeypot but it was the ever reliable Thomson who won the day for the Eagles with little over a second on the clock as the crowd heaved a collective sigh of relief.

Hero of the hour Andy Thomson clearly enjoyed the result but was glad it was all over, “It was a great game for the crowd to watch but nerve wracking to play in! Loads of drama, technicals going left right and centre. Both teams really wanted this.”

Andrew has been a model of consistency, a double double machine for his team this season, “I’m just trying to be consistent. If I can do my job on the defensive end picking up rebounds and the odd offensive rebound that’s great. And try to chip in with as many offensive points as I can.”

Andrew picked up a remarkable three trophies last year with Mersey Tigers but the dream of a clean sweep remains a real possibility for the Eagles after yet another win against one of their main rivals, “If we clinch the Championship hopefully we can get a fourth trophy but we know it’s not going to be easy. It’s a long season and we’ve got a short rotation compared to some teams. We’ve just got to take care of business next week against Mersey with no slip ups and hopefully Plymouth drop a game and that’s us done. If not we have to go to Leicester and win the League there which will be a tough game.”

We’re back at Sport Central next Friday 13th April as the Eagles hope it will be an unlucky one for the Mersey Tigers as they march on towards the BBL Championship.