THE Newcastle Eagles made it a fabulous double- winning weekend with a victory on the road in Birmingham last night.
It means they retain their spot at the top of the BBL Table with nine games to go.
Already without Charles Smith the Eagles also had to do without Jeremy Hyatt who had picked up a knock in the win versus Rocks three hours earlier.
This gave Darius Defoe the opportunity to start and he responded with an excellent performance to lead his side with 28 points. There was also an Eagles high for Aussie Steve Leven, who also stepped up with 23 points.
After a difficult journey Newcastle still looked fresh as they opened a 9-6 lead early on.
However, the Panthers hit back with a 10-0 run to put them in front by seven.
The Eagles clawed it back to 22-20 after 10 minutes.
The second period saw Newcastle’s stifling defence kick in as they only allowed Birmingham seven points in that time.
Sixteen of their own gave them a 34-27 lead at the half.
As the second half opened Newcastle had found their rhythm and were now the dominant force.
A 22-16 third stanza gave them a 13-point cushion going into the last quarter. And they stretched that to a final score of 88-67 to take two well-earned league points.
Next up for title favourites Newcastle is the live Setanta Sports game versus Sheffield Sharks at the MetroRadio Arena this coming Wednesday.
NEWCASTLE SCORERS: Darius Defoe 28, Steve Leven 23, Olu Babalola 12.
