BBL Week 11 Headlines: Rising Eagles see off London; Gladiators-Phoenix split

Image credit: British Basketball League

The latest week of British Basketball League action saw a second defeat for the runaway league leaders as well as an intriguing double-header between two of the top five.

This is what went down on Week 11:

Soaring Eagles stun Lions

Newcastle Eagles’ streak continued in stunning fashion on Thursday evening as they dominated a changed London Lions lineup 80-102. The visitors racked up 62 points in the first half on their way to an impressive win with Jordan Johnson firing in a 25-point haul.

Marc Steutel’s side kept up the winning run by claiming another road scalp with an 87-100 victory over Surrey Scorchers behind a 30-point effort from Rickey McGill.

Phoenix-Gladiators trade away blows

Cheshire Phoenix and Caledonia Gladiators played out a tense weekend double-header by claiming wins on their opponents’ home court. Ben Thomas’ side landed the first punch with an 83-92 triumph on Friday night following Caledonia’s FIBA Europe Cup exit.

However, the Gladiators returned the favour a couple of days later by securing an 82-92 win in the North-West with Clifton Moore starring with 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocks in just 17 minutes off the bench.

Patriots come up short twice

It was another tough weekend for Plymouth City Patriots as they missed out on the chance to make some moves with two close defeats against the teams directly above them. First, they fell to a 91-90 loss away at Manchester Giants despite jumping out to an early 12-point lead before suffering a 63-65 defeat at home to Surrey with the third quarter proving decisive.

Meanwhile, Sheffield Sharks also continued their fine run of form with an 88-78 victory over the sliding Bristol Flyers, despite trailing by 14 early on. Leicester Riders bounced back from three straight defeats to see off Manchester 94-79 as they had six players in double figures, while Sesan Russell made his return to the club.

Results: Lions 80-102 Eagles; Giants 91-90 Patriots; Gladiators 83-92 Phoenix; Scorchers 87-100 Eagles; Riders 94-79 Giants; Sharks 88-78 Flyers; Patriots 63-65 Scorchers; Phoenix 82-92 Gladiators

Standings: Lions 14-2; Phoenix 10-5; Sharks 9-6; Eagles 9-7; Gladiators 8-5; Flyers 8-8; Riders 7-7; Scorchers 5-11, Giants 4-11; Patriots 2-14

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