BBL Championship
Manchester Giants 87 (27,42,61) (Bankevics 22, Eaves 21, Gill 17)
Esh Group Eagles Newcastle 117 (30,60,95) (Martin 22, Fletcher 20, Defoe 18, Thomson 18)

BBL Championship leaders Esh Group Eagles Newcastle rarely look like missing a beat these days and they made light work of despatching Manchester Giants with another impressive offensive prowess and another massive score to consolidate top spot as they secured a 117-87 road win.

Rahmon Fletcher missed just one shot all night and was a perfect four of four from long-range as he garnered 20 points to go with seven assists.

Both teams jumped into the contest with all guns blazing and pretty much consistently on target in a smooth first quarter as the Eagles edged 30-27 in front.

However, once the Giants began to dry up in the second period, the visitors managed to retain their offensive high tide to sweep away the hosts and put themselves into an unassailable 18 point lead heading into the second half.

Jeff Jones and his players couldn’t halt the Eagles scorching firepower and with Rahmon Fletcher pulling the strings nicely in the backcourt, Newcastle continued getting good lucks and converting ruthlessly for the remainder of the game.

If anything, they got even better when the action got underway after the break, pouring in a mammoth 35 points to leave Giants trailing in their wake and effectively with only pride to play for in the final ten minutes.

At least Giants had plenty of players in double-digits, including 22 points from Ingus Bankevics, while Ben Eaves posted a double-double.

However, they were a long way short of stopping the relentless surge of the Eagles, who had seven players in double-figures, with Fletcher going a perfect four of four from downtown en-route to 20 points and also adding seven assists.

Meanwhile Darius Defoe and Andy Thomson both claimed double-doubles for the winning side.