Everton Tigers 95 (26,46,72) (Moore 33, Babalola 14, Bell/Gumbs 11)
Newcastle Eagles 79 (23,38,57) (Sullivan 25, Stewart 13, Smith 11)
Newcastle Eagles 79 (20,36,58) (Stewart 17, Smith 15, Chapman 14)
Everton Tigers 95 (21,41,67) (Babalola 24, Gumbs 17, Jones 16)
Everton Tigers win 190-158 on aggregate.
Everton Tigers pulled-off a stunning upset to beat league champions Newcastle Eagles over two legs and keep their dreams of play-off glory alive.
They will now face Glasgow Rocks in the British Basketball League’s season finale, the Playoff final, at the NIA in Birmingham on Saturday.
The team laid the foundations for victory by establishing a 16-point lead in Friday’s first leg at Greenbank before repeating the same scoreline in Newcastle the next day to send them through.
In a tight opening to the first game Newcastle lead by 20-21 with 1:25 left in the first quarter, but that was the last time they were to be ahead. The Tigers came back at them to end the first period leading 26-23.
In the second quarter the home side continued to mount a strong offence and a 10-2 run midway through the period helped earn them a 46-38 advantage at the midway point.
The Tigers kept up the pressure and, thanks to a 14-3 break in the third quarter, went twenty points clear at 70-50. The Eagles attempted to close the deficit but could only restrict Everton to a 95-79 scoreline.
Former Eagles man Trey Moore led all scorers in the game with an impressive 33 points for the Tigers, while Andrew Sullivan led the Eagles in scoring with 25 points of his own.
Friday’s result meant Newcastle needed to put pressure on from the start of Saturday’s second leg at the Metro Arena.
However, they could not break clear of the Tigers, being pegged back at 27-28 in the first quarter. The Tigers then took charge again as they put together a 12-2 burst to blow open the match.
After the break James Jones continued to cause problems from beyond the arc as the Eagles’ three-point attempts fell off target. His second triple of the quarter made it 31-41 before Eagles trimmed the gap to 36-41 at half time.
Tigers extended their advantage to 45-59 late in the third, which gave them a huge overall margin of 30 points. A Kevin Bell three on the third quarter buzzer gave Everton a 58-67 lead.
There was no way back for Newcastle in the final period as Tigers' advantage on the night only slipped below double-digits twice. Their lead peaked at 76-95 before Stewart ended the Eagles’ season with a three point shot - only their seventh in 29 attempts.
Former Eagles forward Olu Babalola led all scorers with 24 points for Everton and he received great support from Jerome Gumbs (17 points) and James Jones (16 points).
* The Tigers have released details of tickets for the final. The club is organising travel to the game, with a match and coach ticket package costing £30 for adults, £25 for concessions. The coach leaves Greenbank at 1.00pm Saturday, with supporters able to pay for and receive tickets before boarding. For those travelling separately to Birmingham tickets can be purchased from the bar at Greenbank between 6.00pm and 7.00pm on Thursday and Friday nights this week. Tickets cost £21 adults and £16 concessions. Supporters can give their ticket requirements to the club through the website, www.everton-tigers.com, or through Facebook, www.facebook.com/evertontigers, all requests will be confirmed in writing.
Charlie L, Liverpool around 1 year, 9 months ago