Newcastle Eagles 90 Leeds Force 65: Eagles too strong for brave Force

Leeds set the pace early on the last time these two sides met which set the tone for their win. This time it was the Eagles that set the early pace in the game.

Having raced into a 7-2 lead they set the tempo for the game as took control early in the game, only Armand Anebo’s basket stemmed the flow of Newcastle’s early dominance.

Rob Marsden tried to get his team back in it with three of his own baskets but again the back door was left ajar for the hosts to steal easy points.

It quickly became a competition between Rahmon Fletcher and Deandre Parks to be the top scorer as they both raced to double figure points as they went on a 14-2 run to open a 15-point lead after the opening 10 minutes.

Leeds managed to find the Eagles basket more regularly in the second quarter but Newcastle were too quick in transition as they cancelled out any attempt to reduce the ever growing lead.

Christian Behrens and Andrew Lasker then stopped the flow of Leeds baskets with some big blocks as they defended their basket resolutely.

A late flurry of baskets from Parks and two free throws from Fletcher gave the Eagles a 22-point lead at the break as they hit the half century mark on the buzzer.

Leeds woke up in the third quarter as they started on a 6-0 run as they started on the front foot catching the Eagles by surprise. Jack Isenbarger got himself on the board with two triples which saw the Force chip away at the lead as the baskets dried up for Newcastle.

Ten points in the quarter from Jermaine Sanders saw the deficit drop to just 12 points as Leeds found their rhythm with some one touch basketball.

In the blink of an eye Newcastle went on a 7-0 run at the end of the quarter to extend their lead to a comfortable 19.

The Eagles carried that run on into the final quarter as they ended the run at 16-2 as the Force realised the game was behind them.

Sanders top scored for the Force with 14 points, Marsden fell short of a double double as he ended the night on nine points and a massive 16 rebounds.

Joshua Gill got his first points for the Force this season despite being on the end of a heavy defeat.