Newcastle soar above Manchester as north east prevails over north west 106-77.

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A trip to Tyneside for Brian Semonian and his Manchester Giants as they were set to take on the Newcastle Eagles at the Vertu Motors Arena for some Friday night hoops. 

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The last time these 2 teams duked it out, Manchester were on the end of a loss at home. Being beaten 106-85 by Marc Steutel’s men back in February. Now with Giants talisman Jamell Anderson back healthy, the Manchester Giants would be looking for redemption. 

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Starting 5’s: 

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Manchester Giants: Mason Bourcier, Nicholas Lewis, Jamell Anderson ©, William Lee, Legend Robertin. 

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Newcastle Eagles: Larry Austin Jr, Jordan Johnson, Ricky McGill, Tajh Green, Darius Defoe ©. 

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First Half: 

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A 7-0 scoring run from Newcastle in the opening 3 minutes kept Manchester quiet until Legend Robertin dropped in the second chance points off the offensive rebound. Jamell Anderson fired from the corner for an unopposed 3 ball to bring it to a 2 point game at the midway point. Manchester made it level in the toon as the Giants kept feeding their 7”1 force of nature down low for another few two handed flushes. A friendly fadeaway from Nicholas Lewis put Manchester up for the first time in this contest. The Giants big men have been the main driving force for them in this opening quarter, Lee and Robertin and their ability to crash the boards and convert down low proving to be pivotal in the opening 10 minutes. 

Despite the positive offensive output, Manchester struggled with their ball handling with 6 turnovers which allowed Newcastle more looks on offence and allowed the Eagles to keep the game close. Exactly what they did as Newcastle led by 2. 

Newcastle’s Will Neighbour opens up the 2nd quarter going 2/2 and putting Newcastle up an extra 5 points. Suddenly Manchester fell behind to a double digit lead, William Lee rearranged his shot midair in order to keep Manchester fighting in this quarter. With 14 points off turnovers for Newcastle, it was clear to see what the achilles heel for Manchester was in the first half. Newcastle began to find a rhythm and buried Manchester in a slew of points, outscoring the Giants 25-9 at the midway point. 

It was a much needed wake up call for Manchetser who began to put together fruitful offensive possessions of their own through Nicholas Lewis and William Lee, the latter of which already had a double double. 

A struggle for Manchester in this 2nd quarter. Being outscored 37-18 in the 10 minutes alone, they found themselves trailing Newcastle 35-56. 

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Second Half: 

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Newcastle seemed to ease off in the 3rd quarter, a slightly more conservative style of play from Marc Steutel’s side as they believed the damage to already be done. 12 points in 5 minutes as they made sure to keep their lead healthy despite the Giants efforts. All Manchester points in this quarter have come from either Legend Robertin down low or Nicholas Lewis and his ability to slash into the paint. 

Despite being down big, Nicholas Lewis proved to be the point of resistance once more with his consistent and aggressive scoring efforts to keep Manchester alive to some degree. Jamell Anderson, Jalen Harris and Callum Jones began to assist in the scoring efforts in the 3rd quarter as the Giants played arguably their best quarter in this game, outscoring a conservative Eagles team 26-23. 

Manchester began slowly chipping away to a 14 point lead, Nick Satmpley and Jalen Harris from inside the arc whilst Nicholas Lewis contributed from the outside trying to break down the Eagles. Newcastle’s Whitfield proved to be the decisive factor as the Eagles forward seemingly had the midas touch this evening as everything he shot found its way in going 8-8 and 7-7 from behind the arc. Manchester didnt let this deter them as they continually battled hard in the paint through the explosiveness of Nick Stampley. A barrage of 3’s from Newcastle saw the Giants down by a staggering 32 which would be their deciding fate. 

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Stats: 

Nicholas Lewis: 26 Points, 6 Rebounds, 5 Assists, 2 Steals. 

William Lee: 11 Points, 11 Rebounds, 47%FG. 

Legend Robertin: 14 Points, 7 Rebounds, 2 Steals. 

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Next on the Giants calendar is a return to the National Basketball Performance Centre to take on the Surrey Scorchers. Tip off is scheduled for March 21st at 7:45pm. Doors will open an hour before tip off. 

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All highlights from tonight’s tip off in the toon will be available to view below: