Eagles take the fight to Riders and reap reward

IT WAS a festive bonanza in the Vertu Arena on Friday night as the Newcastle Eagles delivered an early Christmas present to their fans, in giving their SLB Championship record a timely boost as they shot down the Leicester Riders.

- Jeff King

The 98-85 win for Marc Steutel's men was a real statement of intent as his players produced an excellent all-round team performance. That it came only a day after a 16-hour return trip from an ENBL defeat in Bulgaria was even more remarkable.

Eagles top-scoring guard Maceo Jack was in high spirits as he celebrated after Eagles led from start to finish.

"We knew the challenges we had against us with the long travel day and a tough Leicester side to face," he reflected.

"But we knew the last game in Bulgaria we just had a bad start. We took what we learned from that game and applied it to this one.

"We came out really aggressive, started strongly taking the fight to them and that’s how we pulled this win off."