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London reign victorious to breeze past the Eagles in the North-East.
Donte Grantham led the Lions in Newcastle, helping his team maintain their place at the top of the British Basketball League Championship.
Despite losing in the BBL Trophy Final last week in Birmingham, the Lions came into the fixture with a hunger to get back to winning ways as they looked to continue their hot run in the BBL Championship.
As London set out for the long trip north, they prepared themselves to face a strong Eagles side that beat them earlier this season at the Copper Box. The fixture looked a difficult one for the Lions to contend with, as the hosts entered the game having won their previous two BBL fixtures. This included a 113-93 victory over the BBL Trophy winners, Cheshire Phoenix.
It was end-to-end stuff in the first quarter as both sides started fast with little separating the teams from opposite ends of the country.
As the quarter ended, it was Donte Grantham who made the difference – sinking back-to-back three pointers to take the Lions into the second with a four-point lead.
The visitors rapidly extended their lead in the second quarter to a margin of 10, but it was Newcastle who came back strong as the Lions missed several opportunities to extend the margin.
The response from the hosts was resounding as they tied the game up going into the half, with Taj Green leading a dominant display for his team.
The Eagles’ momentum faded in the third quarter as the side from the North East were unable to keep the Lions at bay. David Nwaba, alongside Donte Grantham, contributed towards the Eagles’ demolition, which helped to balloon London’s lead.
The pair combined for a total of 35 points on the night.
Despite a valiant effort from Jordan Johnson throughout the match, which included a game-leading tally of 19 points, the league-leaders continued their dominance from the third quarter into the fourth – scoring over 100 points to extend their unbeaten run to eight games in the BBL.
The Lions remain top of the Championship with a 23-3 record.
London will now look forward to their fixture on Sunday, where they return to the Copper Box Arena to face the Plymouth City Patriots.
Watch the highlights from Newcastle Eagles vs London Lions here.
