2015/16 Game Report
Team
Opposition
Home/Away
Competition
Date
Score
Newcastle Eagles Under 18 Men
Derby Trailblazers
A
EBL Under 18’s North Premier
3rd October 2015
Newcastle Eagles
79
- 70
Derby Trailblazers
Report
The Eagles took to the road for their first away game of the new season… The boys in black were looking to go 2 and
0 after their opening day home win against the City of Birmingham…
The Eagles arrived in plenty of time at the Noel Baker High School in Derby along with their travelling support…
The game tipped on time with Coach Fisher’s team playing in white opening the scoring with a 5-0 run before the
visitors found their scoring touch and by the 6th minute they had edged ahead 7-8 on the back of two perimeter
shots from Alex Horta… The home team then took advantage of some poor defending and they went on another 6-0
run and closed out the opening 10 minutes at 15-12…
The 2nd period was another close affair with both teams going on small scoring runs but it was the home team who
edged it 16-12 making it 31-24 at the half time….
Both teams headed to the changing rooms for 10 minutes for what I am sure were very different team talks… The 3 rd
quarter got under way with the visitors rallying to Coach Heath’s team talk and they jumped out to 2-9 run in the
first 3 minutes…. Derby took a time out and it steadied their ship as they hit back with 2 perimeter bombs to edge
ahead 39-33… The last 2 minutes of the period saw the saw top scorer Tom Usher lead the visitors on a 3-11 run
hitting 9 personal points making it 42-44 at the break to the Eagles… (11-20)
The last 10 minutes saw the home team rally and take an early 6-0 run making it 48-44… The Eagles then hit back
and by the 5th minute it was 49-48, the boys in black then hit two more perimeter shots to go up 49-54… Back came
the Trailblazers and with a minute to go they were up 57-56 as they took advantage of 5 free throws… The last
minute showed the Eagles weren't in a mood to surrender the game as they scored 4 including 2 free throws from
Usher…
With 8 seconds on the clock and the Eagles up 57-60 Derby called a time out and with a buzzer beater 3 they took
the game into over time at 60-60…. (18-16)
The Eagles could have caved in with the dagger shot but their second over time game in two weeks showed their
immense resilience as they jumped out with a 0-6 run making it 60-66… Derby then hit back and by the 4th minute of
the extra period it was 67-72… The last minute saw the Eagles get stops and the home team kept fouling with the
visitors making 3 out of 6 free throws with the home team sneaking a basket in between to make it 70-75… The
Eagles then closed out the game with two more scores making it 70-79…. (9-19)
Coach Heath said ‘What a game of basketball, scrappy at times but quality for the most… We didn't execute at all
much during the 1st half and this is what we focused on during the break… Our defence had been decent all game
and our offensive execution improved massively through the 3rd and 4th… Tom Usher was outstanding at both ends
of the floor but again our team showed what character we do have… Everyone contributed something and we came
away with a deserved win… We now sit top of the league at 2-0 and have a home game this Saturday coming up
against Team Birmingham Elite….
Eagles Top Scorers- Tom Usher 30, Shaun Murphy 18 and Alex Horta 15…