BBL Championship
London Lions 92-74 Newcastle Eagles (22-21, 49-39, 70-58)
(Lions – Reese 20, Cugini 17, Kelley 16; Eagles – Johnson 19, Gordon 15, Sayers 12)
London Lions beat Newcastle Eagles 92-74 in an entertaining match-up at the Copperbox Arena on Wednesday evening.
The game got off to a close start with the sides barely being able to be separated in the opening quarter. It was Lions who were able to get their noses in front as they edged out Eagles 22-21 in the first.
Lions started to dominate in the second. The side from the capital scored 27 points in the period and limited Eagles to 18 to hold a healthy 10 point, 49-39 lead at the break.
Eagles were resilient in the third quarter, but Lions were able to extend their lead again. They outscored Eagles 21-19 to lead 70-58 going into the fourth and final quarter, leaving Eagles with it all to do.
Lions played out the game sensibly in the last. They scored 22 points and limited Eagles to 16 to fall just short of triple digits and secure the 18-point win.
Isaiah Reese scored a game-high 20 points for Lions whilst Kylor Kelley had a dominant game of 16 points and 17 rebounds for the London side.