Not enough to get the job done in Newcastle
In a battle until the final buzzer the Scorchers come up short despite a 26 point performance from Stanley Davis Jr.
With the signing of BBL Champion and former London Lions Brandon Peele during the week, the Newcastle side looked to help restore some wins after a difficult BBL Cup run.
As the team travelled North to face the Eagles for the first game of the BBL Championship the Scorchers looked confident as the ball went up.
A hot start for GB Andrew Lawrence netting his first 3 shots moving to a quick individual 8 points and a 14 – 10 lead forcing Coach MacLeod to a timeout.
Brandon Peele stepped onto the court for the first time in a Newcastle strip forcing a turnover and a transition score to get the Eagles going.
A devastating blow for Scorchers saw star Andrew Lawrence go down and stay down. Holding his ankle Lawrence was carried off the court by his team mates and would not return for the rest of the game.
In the second quarter Scorchers missing their floor general but managed to still find good scoring opportunities but were unable to execute.
Eagles capitalised on this running in transition and pushing the ball through Rahmon Fletcher taking a 13 point lead behind Corey Johnson’s sharp shooting netting himself 13 points at the half.
With a field goal percentage of 33% the Scorchers struggled in the first half. However as seen in the last 2 games against Bristol Flyers the team were not going to go out without a fight. A notable first half performance from Saiquan Jamison hauling in 10 rebounds and would finish with 18 boards on the night.
Coach Creon making some adjustments at half time saw the team enter the 3rd quarter composed, finding good looks in the paint from drive and kick basketball.
Stanley Davis Jr who struggled in the first half going 1 for 9 sparked this scoring with a tough finish at the rim followed by knocking down a deep 3 pointer. Eagles still doing a lot of their damage in transition as scorchers tallied a total 19 turnovers at the end of the 3rd quarter heading into the 4th Quarter down 11 points. 71 – 60 to the Eagles.
In the 4th Scorchers traded bucket for bucket with eagles applying pressure to reduce the deficit but unable to as Eagles Corey Johnson puts the nail in the coffin making big shot after big shot to stay comfortably in front.
Final Score 90 – 81 to Eagles.
Scorchers head back up north next weekend to take on the Manchester Giants in the quarter final of the BBL Cup. Tune into BBL Player Sunday 14th November @ 5pm to get behind your Scorchers.
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