BBL Championship
Surrey Scorchers 86-88 Newcastle Eagles (18-18, 21-18, 26-20, 21-32)
Scorchers – Lawrence 15, Busumbru 14, Martin 13; Eagles – Hamlet 23, Cohn 21, Johnson 20
B Braun Sheffield Sharks 64-71 Plymouth City Patriots (15-18, 24-13, 14-22, 11-18)
Sharks – Nichols 25, Koch 15, Delpeche and Glasgow 7; Patriots – Williams 23, Hassan 16, Bell 14
With many people preparing for long journeys to visit family at Christmas, the Plymouth Patriots and Newcastle Eagles got a couple of early BBL Championship gifts on the road, one week away from Santa’s extended travels.
Javion Hamlet led a big comeback for the Eagles as they took a two-point win down south, over the Surrey Scorchers.
And up north, Plymouth’s Antonio Williams scored 23 to lead a team effort that took down the B Braun Sheffield Sharks.
Surrey Scorchers will have entered Sunday’s lunchtime contest against the Newcastle Eagles with high hopes.
When the two teams faced off at the start of November, they took a four point win at Vertu Motors Arena in Newcastle.
December’s match-up saw the Scorchers come out with confidence in the first quarter, as they took a nine-point lead early. They did so from behind the three-point line.
Ryan Martin and Josh Jefferson pulled up with confidence from distance in the opening 10 minutes.
But Newcastle’s team travelled the length of England to Surrey Sports Park to avenge their loss at home earlier in the season.
It was Javion Hamlet who led the comeback in the second quarter. He took over and scored nine points in myriad ways – threes, pull-ups, a floater that tied the contest, and a tough layup driving through the lane to take a one-point lead before halftime, even if the home team took a slim lead heading into the locker room.
After a tough talk from Lloyd Gardner, his Surrey team came out scorching. A 9-2 run, led by Jefferson’s joyous jumpshots put the home side up 10 points.
Every time Newcastle’s Hamlet got going, however, his team closed the gap. They trailed by four after he went on a mini-tear on the third.
The Scorchers built a gap on a well-rounded team effort to close the third and start the fourth.
And just when you thought Hamlet was going to lead the charge again to make a comeback for the Eagles, teammate David Cohn did the honours.
Cohn got going early by rushing the lane to pick off a pass from Surrey’s Kyle Carey. The Eagles guard dribbled…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at British Basketball League…