Report: Bristol Flyers 73-74 Newcastle Eagles
Tuesday, February 2nd 2021
Bristol Flyers were unable to hold off Newcastle Eagles in the opening round of the BBL Trophy.
Four players finished in double figures for the Flyers, led by Josh Wilcher’s 15 points from the bench, but it wasn’t enough to knock out the BBL Trophy holders in a tense finish at the WISE Campus.
WHAT HAPPENED
Flyers raced out to an early 19-point lead when Ben Mockford hit nine early points and Wilcher scored a pair of three-pointers to make the score 30-11 just nine minutes in.
But Newcastle began their comeback almost immediately in the second, as an Eddie Matthew triple sparked a run of seven straight, and Evan Maxwell made three scores in a row to narrow the gap to 41-35 by the half.
The visitors completed the comeback in the third, when Fletcher’s driving lay-up put Eagles up 58-56, but there were nine lead changes between then and the end of the game, and when Justin Baker tipped-in for Flyers, they were back in front with seven seconds to play.
But Newcastle began their comeback almost immediately in the second, as an Eddie Matthew triple sparked a run of seven straight, and Evan Maxwell made three scores in a row to narrow the gap to 41-35 by the half.
The visitors completed the comeback in the third, when Fletcher’s driving lay-up put Eagles up 58-56, but there were nine lead changes between then and the end of the game, and when Justin Baker tipped-in for Flyers, they were back in front with seven seconds to play.
Flyers disrupted Newcastle’s sideline out of bounds with fouls to spare, but Mockford caught Fletcher in the act of shooting, as he iced both of his free-throws to seal it
Fletcher scored 11 of his 15 points in the second half, adding eight assists, while his backcourt partner Cortez Edwards posted a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, as Newcastle made it six straight wins in all competitions.