THE Eagles produced one of their best ever team performances in last night’s BBL Cup semi-final at the K2 Arena in Crawley. Their 75-69 win over fierce rivals Scottish Rocks booked their place in next month’s cup final at the NIA in Birmingham. It was a victory that upset the odds after what has been a tough week for Fab Flournoy and his men. Already without the departed Richard Midgley, Jeremy Hyatt was also unable to play any part on the court due to his knee injury. But the Eagles players believe in the philosophy Flournoy puts forward and they executed their game-plan perfectly. Showing real passion and heart, they scored when they needed to and defended to a man throughout the full 40 minutes. In the first quarter it was Rocks who jumped into an 8-0 lead. Flournoy called a time-out to rally his troops and back they came to close within one. A late 8-0 burst gave Newcastle their first lead of the night as the period closed 20-19. With Lynard Stewart doing well inside and Charles Smith nailing a couple of three-point baskets, the Eagles extended their lead to 12 in the second. Rocks came back with skipper Andrew Bridge’s last score of the half making it 40-32. Rocks came out of the locker room strong and a 15-5 run put them in front by two. But Newcastle dug in and fought back well to re-establish themselves and take a 59-56 lead into the last 10 minutes. An 8-4 start to that final quarter saw Newcastle up by seven. Rocks came back again to close to two. But the Eagles were not to be denied and closed the game out from the free throw line. The Eagles face Milton Keynes Lions in the final on January 30 after they beat holders Guildford Heat 91-80 in the other semi. SCOTTISH ROCKS: Maurice Hampton 15, Moritz Wohlers 14, Rob Yanders 13. NEWCASTLE EAGLES: Charles Smith 20, Lynard Stewart 16, Andrew Bridge 16. | 
