The second longest win streak in BBL history is over after Newcastle Eagles tasted defeat for the first time this season last Friday evening, when they went down 94-80 at Worcester Wolves.
The Eagles had not been on the losing side in a BBL game since April last year and had racked up an incredible 28 wins in a row.
The Wolves have been their bogey team of late and they proved to be again as Worcester took control of the game from the second period onward.
In last week’s BBL Cup Final, the Eagles were able to claw their back from a double-digit deficit to win, but there would be no repeat as the Wolves held Newcastle at bay in the fourth quarter to claim a memorable victory.
Pavol Losonsky led Worcester with 26 points, while Charles Smith was the high man for Eagles with 18.
It was almost a bad end to the weekend for the Wolves on Sunday as they barely scraped past Surrey Scorchers, 96-88, after overtime.
The host Scorchers almost pulled out the win in regulation, but the Wolves were saved after Orlan Jackman grabbed a long rebound and sunk a game-tying three pointer to force the extra period in which the visitors finally took control of the game.
Perris Blackwell led the Wolves with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Surrey’s TJ Johnson had 16 points on his BBL debut.
The Eagles’ defeat means Sheffield Sharks are now the league’s in-form team and they took their current streak to eight wins at the weekend as they beat both Leeds Force and Manchester Giants to strengthen their hold on fourth place in the Championship.
Jerrold Brooks led the way with 22 points as the Sharks defeated Leeds, 92-59, and on Sunday it was Kyle Odister’s time to shine as he recorded a season-high 22 points in the 93-70 win away to Manchester, with Brooks chipping in with 19.
“Jerrold is a lethal knock-down shooter,” said Sharks’ Mike Tuck.
“Hands down one of the best shooters I’ve played with and in the second quarter [against Leeds] we wanted to get him going, so we started running some plays for him.
“He knocked down the first one, got hot, so we just kept giving him the ball.”
Neil Watson led the way with 27 points as Leicester Riders bounced back from their BBL Cup Final defeat to win 90-80 at Plymouth Raiders, and there was also a victory for Glasgow Rocks in their first home game of 2016.
Behind Marcus Ware’s double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds, Rocks built an early double-digit lead that they never relinquished en-route to an 87-58 win.
“We played really well tonight,” said the Rocks’ coach Sterling Davis.
“The first half was a little up and down but we responded well in the second half and turned the intensity up.
“Adam Hammerschmidt stepped into the starting line-up and I thought he did a very solid job.”
In the weekend’s only BBL Trophy tie, Newcastle bounced back from their Worcester defeat with a 97-87 victory at Cheshire Phoenix on Sunday, overcoming a game-high 34 points from Akeem Ellis.
The Eagles, led by Rahmon Fletcher’s 18 points, now await either Worcester or Glasgow in the Trophy Semi-Final.
