BBL Championship
Marshall MK Lions 86 (23,44,62,78,81) (Brown 18,
Williams 18, Jamison 14)
Newcastle Eagles 93 (23,43,61,78,81) (Bridge 22, Leven 21,
Stewart 16)
After Double Overtime
The newly-crowned BBL Champions, the Newcastle Eagles, recorded
a sweep of the Marshall MK Lions as they beat them for the
third time in the BBL Championship this season, 86-93 in double
overtime on the road on Friday night.
It was a BBL-first as the Eagles were forced into overtime
for the third consecutive game, and they have won all of those.
In another physical battle between these two sides in front
of a full house at Bletchley, Andrew Bridge led all scorers
with 22 points for the Eagles, with GB squad member Steve
Leven on 21. Fellow GB squad member Yorick Williams hit 18
for the Lions, as did Terrell Brown.
The Lions took the lead early in the game as a Tony Windless
three-pointer and 8 Shawn Jamison points saw them 11-10 up,
but it required 4 late points from Yorick Williams to ensure
that the teams were tied at 23 after the first ten minutes,
setting the tone for this game.
Brown hit three triples as the Lions led 39-35 in the second
stanza, before a 6-0 run from the Eagles saw them in front,
only for Brown to hit another three and Williams to score
on the buzzer as the Lions regained the advantage at 44-43
going into the half.
Darius Defoe put the Eagles back ahead, before Yorick Williams
keyed an 8-0 burst for the Lions and a 52-45 lead. A Bridge
triple saw the Eagles just one down at 62-61 going into the
fourth.
Both teams thought they had it won in the fourth period after
a Kevin Griffin triple sparked a 9-0 burst for the Lions,
and a 71-64 lead. However, a Fab Flournoy basket was followed
by 10 straight from Leven and a 71-76 Newcastle lead with
2:00 remaining. Griffin hit another triple before Brown got
a steal and lay-up to tie the game with 28 seconds left. Griffin
hit two free-throws before the Eagles made their way down
the court for the last possession with 20 seconds left, they
found Lynard Stewart inside and he tied the game.
There were no early baskets in a low-scoring five minutes,
as a pair of Bridge free-throws gave Newcastle the lead before
Griffin hit another three. Bridge was then fouled with 5 seconds
left, and made 1/2 to force the second extra period.
Brown hit another three-pointer for an 84-83 lead for the
hosts, before Stewart was fouled and left unable to take his
free-throws. Brian McCotter checked in and tied the game at
84. Soon afterwards, Babalola hit a deep three and Bridge
scored once more for an 86-89 Newcastle lead, before Babalola
and Flournoy sealed it from the charity stripe.
Sheffield Sharks 78 (18,42,57) (Chaney 21, Lyons
19, Al. Virgil 11)
Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 73 (15,34,52) (Lasker 20, Beasley
18, Moore 15)
The Sheffield Sharks continued their sparkling form, and
their build-up to the BBL Championship Playoffs, as they overcame
the third-placed Kularoos Plymouth Raiders by 78-73 at the
English Institute of Sport.
Sheffield's fifth consecutive win, and their first over the
Raiders this season, was inspired by Shelby Chaney's 21 points,
11 rebounds, and 4 blocks; whilst Atiba Lyons added 19 points.
Drew Lasker led the Raiders with 20 points, with Gaylon Moore
adding 15 points and 16 boards.
The Raiders had the better of the early exchanges and led
12-15, before the Sharks scored the last 6 points of the first
quarter to take an 18-15 lead with Alto Virgil scoring the
last basket in that run.
The teams stayed close at 22-20 in the second until Lyons'
8 points and Chaney's 6 were influential in an 18-8 burst
that gave the hosts a comfortable 40-28 lead. The Raiders
chipped into that and when Gavin Love hit a three-pointer
on the half-time buzzer, they were still in the game at 42-34.
The Raiders tied the game immediately in the third after
a 10-2 tear made it 44-44. They took the lead with two Anthony
Martin free-throws and held it until 49-52, when the Sharks
posted an 8-0 push including triples from Anthony Virgil and
Nathan Niesler. The Sharks led 57-52 going into the fourth
quarter.
The Raiders would snatch the lead back as DeAntoine Beasley
scored 6 straight points as part of a 9-0 run that made the
score 67-70. However, Chaney and Lyons checked back into the
game and had an immediate impact as the Sharks responded 9-0,
and took the lead on a Chaney score. When Chaney blocked Lasker
before scoring a free-throw with 21 seconds left, the game
was settled.
BBL CHAMPIONSHIP TABLE
No Team P W L Pts
1 Newcastle Eagles 32 28 4 56
2 Guildford Heat 30 22 8 44
3 Kularoos Plymouth Raiders 31 22 9 44
4 Marshall MK Lions 32 19 13 38
5 SAMG Verve Scottish Rocks 30 17 13 34
6 Sheffield Sharks 31 16 15 32
7 Everton Tigers 30 14 16 28
8 Worcester Wolves 31 13 18 26
9 BiG Storage Cheshire Jets 30 9 21 18
= Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 30 9 21 18
= PAWS London Capital 30 9 21 18
12Team Birmingham Panthers 29 5 24 10
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