The Newcastle Eagles were emphatic in victory in the biggest game of the BBL Championship season so far on Sunday, beating the Sheffield Sharks 99-79 in the North East. The win sends the Eagles to the top of the league, ahead of the Sharks, and means that they have secured the 'all important' head-to-head between the teams.

The Eagles were led to their thirteenth consecutive win in all competitions by 24 points from Reggie Jackson, while Andrew Sullivan added 23. But possibly the key factor was that they kept Sheffield's Mike Cook down to just 14 points, while former Eagle Tafari Toney led for the Sharks with 22 points. The Sharks were the last team to beat the Eagles at the MetroRadio Arena back in November and this was their first defeat in ten league outings.

The Eagles raced into an early lead and never looked back. Reggie 'Action' Jackson set the tone with a three-point play after little more than 10 seconds, and they went on to establish a 25-10 lead as he and Sullivan shared 6 straight points midway through the first. A massive first quarter saw the hosts leading 34-23, and, with the exception of one blip as Toney scored back-to-back baskets in the second stanza, they kept the lead in double-figures for the remainder of the game. Andrew Bridge's triple sparked an 11-2 push that made the score 49-32 and they went into the half-time break at 57-39 as Sullivan dunked on the buzzer.

With the first two scores of the third period Newcastle pushed the lead through the twenty mark, but the Sharks threatened a comeback as they scored the next nine points to make it 61-48. That run was halted by Charles Smith's trey and the Eagles went on to hold their visitors scoreless for three minutes, leaving it at 69-48 before they would score again with 3.14 left in the third. The lead stayed at around twenty points, until the Sharks made one final rally within the final five minutes of the game. Patton's three-pointer narrowed the deficit to 86-71, only for Jackson to respond in kind as the Eagles rattled off another 6 points before seeing the game out.

SEE THE mikeshaft.com 2010 RUN-IN HERE

Just one week after leading Premiership Footballers Shay Given, Wade Elliott and Michael Duff launched the 2010 BT Paralympic World Cup, one of the world’s most recognisable Paralympic athletes, Oscar Pistorius, has confirmed he will compete in this year’s event.

Well I think that there is no doubt that the BBL League Championship is now a two horse race between the Sheffield Sharks 22 & 4 and the Newcastle Eagles 22 & 5. Of course the teams meet in Newcastle next Sunday evening and many people are thinking of this as the Championship decider. Only time will tell if that turns out to be the case. The Sharks are now one loss better than the Eagles but that will all change next Sunday.

A victory for the Eagles would not only tie the loss column but would give the Eagles the head-to-head, meaning that if the teams are tied on points at the end of the season then the Eagles will be champions. Of course a win for the Sharks would give them the head-to-head, and would also put them 2 losses ahead of the Eagles.

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READ THE FULL DETAILS HERE

Sheffield Sharks 104 (32,52,78) (Cook 33, Toney 19, Lyons/Patton 14)
Marshall MK Lions 84 (21,43,60) (Harrison 17, Youngblood 16, Morris 15)

The Sheffield Sharks scored a crucial 104-84 victory over the Marshall MK Lions at the summit of the BBL Championship table on Thursday night. The win keeps them two points ahead of the Newcastle Eagles and is their ninth consecutive league victory.

Mike Cook led their scoring once more with 33 points, while Tafari Toney had 19. EJ Harrison led the visitors with 17 points.

It was the third defeat in a row for the Lions, as they hang on to fourth place in the Championship table.

The Sharks did much of the damage early on and led 32-21 after the opening ten minutes. Cook scored the first seven points, and when Patton added a three-pointer a minute later the score became 12-4.

The lead reached 21-9 before the Lions got going; they got to 26-20 but Perry Lawson's triple halted their momentum and Cook added two more scores before the quarter was done.

The Lions made some headway in the second stanza as Maximillion Simon and Dawud Morris made triples within thirty seconds of each other to narrow the deficit to 48-42 just two minutes out from half time. But the Sharks still led 52-43 at the break.

The Sharks virtually settled the game after the half as Lyons and Cook shared six quick points, before a 10-2 burst midway through the third quarter stretched the lead to 73-54 with two and a half minutes left. The lead was pushed through the twenty point barrier in the fourth quarter and Toney made two big dunks in quick succession to make the score 84-64. The lead peaked at 102-78 on two Cook free-throws as the Sharks saw the game out.

The BBL Championship's second and third placed sides both had mixed fortunes last weekend, as Newcastle Eagles kept up their assault on the title with two wins, whilst Marshall MK Lions experienced the opposite.

The Eagles came good firstly against Worcester Wolves, with a 77-82 result in their favour, and then beat the Lions 87-101, whilst the Milton Keynes based club were unable to replicate their 97- 90 victory over the Wolves last Tuesday, as they also went down 82-122 to Everton Tigers last weekend.

They were downed by last year's MVP Trey Moore, as the American poured in 31 points, and Everton's British guard contingent of James Jones and Adam Williams both made a massive impact on the game, as they each scored 27 points.

The result meant that, coupled with Glasgow Rocks 70-75 triumph over Cheshire Jets and 95-77 win over Essex Pirates, the Lions slip down to fourth place in the BBL Championship, whilst the Rocks take third spot.

The Everton Tigers also made their ambition known to the league last weekend, as they also overcame the in- form Worthing Thunder 82-90 on Saturday night, with Dave Titmuss side bouncing back the next day via a 73-91 win over PAWS London Capital.

Worcester Wolves story was a disappointing one, as they lost out both to Vince Macaulay's side, and the Eagles last weekend, whilst Guildford Heat player-coach, Chad McKnight, will be desperate to get his side back on track, as their chances of reaching the BBL Trophy Final again were crushed by Cheshire Jets in the Quarter Finals last Wednesday night, and the Jets came out on top again in Sunday s clash between the two clubs, at Guildford Spectrum.

To compound the Surrey outfit's misery, they also went down 99-88 to Sheffield Sharks at the EIS Sheffield, as Mike Cook scored 33 points.

Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders kept up their solid home form, as 25 points and 20 points from Bradd Wierzbicki and Jason Johnson respectively, secured them a 94-93 victory over the visiting Airwaves Plymouth Raiders on Saturday night, thanks to a bucket with 9 seconds remaining from Tony Windless.

There were wins for the Sheffield Sharks and the Everton Tigers in important games at the top of the BBL Championship on Friday night.

The league-leading Sharks made it eight wins in a row as they overcame the Guildford Heat by 99-88 to remain unbeaten in the league in 2010. Mike Cook scored five three-pointers on his way to 33 points on the night.

After dominating the first half, the Sharks had to survive Guildford's revival in the third quarter as they scored 31 points to lead 72-73 heading into the final ten minutes.

But the Heat haven't won on the road in the league since the opening night of the season, in September, and the Sharks regained the ascendancy in the decisive period. Cook tied the teams at 82 with a triple, but the Sharks only took the lead again in the final two minutes as Tafari Toney' top and tailed' a 12-0 surge to finish the game off.

Elsewhere, the Everton Tigers stunned the Marshall MK Lions as they hammered them by 82-122 at Middleton Hall. It leaves the Tigers on the verge of the top four, while the Lions are hanging on to third place.

The Tigers were led by 31 points from Trey Moore, while Brits James Jones and Adam Williams had 27 each. They scored 11/21 three-pointers and had 17 steals, scoring 39 points off turnovers.

All of the damage was done early on as they outscored their hosts 27-9 across the first quarter break to take a 22-44 lead, and they pushed it through 40 points early in the third period as Adam Williams hit 8 quick points.

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Sheffield Sharks secured a vital win in their BBL title challenge with a 93-100 victory at fourth placed Glasgow Rocks. Playing without BBL leading scorer Mike Cook due to a foot injury, the Sharks turned to the inside-outside combination of Tafari Toney (pictured above) and Ryan Patton who scored 31 points and 28 points respectively.

Toney also pulled down 15 boards and went a perfect nine from nine at the charity stripe. Point guard Patton was six from nine beyond the arc as Sharks moved two points clear at the top of the league table. Rocks were quickest to build up a lead with former Shark Rob Yanders three making it 14-9. Sheffield responded through a combination of Ryan Patton and Tafari Toney with a 10-3 run to go ahead 17-24. Two Jessie Sapp free throws trimmed the gap to 24-29 after ten minutes.

Threes by Yanders and Mike Crowell brought Rocks back to within one (30-31) of Sheffield before Matt Gorman and Patton connected from beyond the arc for Sharks. Gorman was in good form for Sheffield as he drained another three and a two to give his team their largest lead of the first half (42-55). Yanders and Gareth Murray reduced the arrears back to single digits before Adrian Anderson beat the buzzer to put Sheffield 46-57 on top at the interval.

Toney extended Sharks lead back to 13 to open the third quarter. Patton, twice, and Gorman kept the Sheffield lead in double figures as Rocks looked to fight back through Sterling Davis and Steve Parillon from the free throw line. Another Patton three was the start of a 14-7 run up to the end of the period, which gave Sheffield a 67-81 lead heading into the final quarter.

An 8-2 start to the fourth quarter gave Sharks an unassailable 20 point lead (69-89), and despite threes from Murray, Davis, Yanders and Sapp, which brought Rocks back to nine (81-90), a 7-0 Sheffield burst put the result beyond doubt.

Elsewhere, Cheshire Jets moved level on points for sixth in the BBL after a comfortable 112-68 win over bottom placed PAWS London Capital. Chez Marks led Jets scorers with 33, including six of nine from the three point line as the home side unleashed 15 long range bombs on the visitors. Colin O Reilly weighed in with 15 all scored in the first nine minutes of action.

BBL Trophy holders Newcastle Eagles are through to the semi-finals of this year's competition with an 86- 96 win on the road at Worthing Thunder. Worthing trailed at half time but were excellent after the break with a 19-9 run giving them a 68-67 lead. However, Newcastle responded well and a 4-0 burst to close the third quarter had the visitors 71-75 on top.

Thunder twice got back to within one point of the Eagles, but each time Charles Smith scored to keep his team just far enough in front. A 13-4 run started by a Smith three finished the match in Eagles favour to set up a two-legged semi-final.

Everton Tigers gave their form a boost as they moved up to 5th place in the BBL Championship table, thanks to a 94-87 win over Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders, whilst the Newcastle Eagles kept up the pressure at the top with a 110-83 triumph over Guildford Heat.

Although it was the Riders who got off to the better start, as they went 4/6 from deep to lead 19-9 after five minutes, the Tigers then took control, as the East Midlands outfit struggled to put the ball in the basket for the second half of the period, and Everton went up 30-24 after ten minutes. The second quarter was then a case of Trey Moore doing some damage, as he scored four points in a Tigers burst which took them nine points ahead after an Olu Babalola free throw.

The Riders were not down and out however, as Lataryl Williams, Jason Johnson, Isaac Westbrooks and Bradd Wierzbicki, all found a way to score, meaning that the Riders were only 37-32 behind with just over five minutes left in the half. Towards the end of the quarter, seven consecutive points from Everton meant the scoreboard read 56-45 in the Tigers favour at the interval.

The third quarter was a similar story, although the Riders actually outscored their Merseyside counterparts 21-20, the fact that the first half had given the Tigers a cushion lead meant that they were still 76-66, and despite a late Riders resurgence, they held on to record a 94-87 home court win.

After a relatively tight first period in Newcastle, in which the Heat looked as if they had control of the game, they were 25-18 after ten minutes. The Eagles then came soaring back, much inspired by Chapman, but were still trailing 44-47 at the half. It was only down to a massive penultimate stanza that the Eagles secured a comfortable victory, as they pulled away to lead 74-58 going into the final ten minutes.

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The Everton Tigers secured their semi-final berth in the BBL Trophy thanks to a thrilling come-from-behind 87-88 victory over the Glasgow Rocks at the Kelvin Hall on Thursday evening.

In the opening period both sides traded baskets throughout much of the opening exchanges but a 7-2 run from the visitors gave them an early 13-19 lead midway through the period. A pair of Gareth Murray free-throws sparked the Rocks back into life as they finished the quarter the stronger thanks to a 10-2 burst to give the home side a slender 23-21 lead at the end of the first. In the second period, the Tigers tied the game at 23-23, but the Rocks responded immediately and an 11-2 burst took the score out to 34-25 midway through the quarter.

The Tigers were not to be outdone however as nine points from Jerome Gumbs helped the Tigers remain in the game with an 11-4 tear of their own to close to within two points at 38-36. Both sides traded baskets for the remainder of the period but it was the home side who finished the half on top leading 47-40 as the teams headed into the locker rooms at the half.

In the second half the Rocks maintained their advantage through the early exchanges but they were unable to fully shake off a resilient Tigers team as Gumbs and James Jones combined for a 16-5 burst from the visitors to give them the lead at 56-58.

A Mike Crowell three- pointer followed by a Mike Copeland free-throw gave the Rocks the lead back at 60-58 heading into the final seconds of the third period, but a pair of free-throws from Trey Moore sent the teams into the final stanza level at 60-60 a-piece. In the final quarter a pair of Gareth Murray three- pointers sparked a 12-2 burst for the Rocks to give them the lead at 73-65 in the early stages of the quarter, but a 17-2 tear from the Tigers handed them back the lead at 75-82 with 1:09 remaining in the game.

The Rocks tried to get themselves back into the game and despite back-to-back three- pointers from Rob Yanders in the dying seconds to trim the deficit to just a single point, the Tigers held on for the slender victory and book their place in the semi-finals of the competition. Gumbs led all scorers on the night with an impressive 27 points for the visitors while Yanders led the Rocks in scoring with 18 points personal.

Everton Tigers have announced that power forward Dzaflo Larkai has left the club with immediate effect.

The 28 year old from London has activated a clause in his contract and has accepted an offer from Japan for the rest of the season.

Larkai had become a firm fans favourite after a string of impressive performances so far this season but despite the Tigers best efforts he has decided to continue his career away from Merseyside.

Head coach Tony Garbelotto said: “We’re naturally disappointed that Dzaflo has decided to take the option to move away to Japan, especially at this stage of the season; but I guess this is a reflection of how highly he is regarded by another league.”

“He has been an important part of the team, despite his injury before Christmas, but with James Jones back to fitness, and Kevin Bell not too far away, I’m confident we can keep the momentum of our season going. We will be reviewing our options to strengthen our squad, to make sure we can still be in contention as the battle for play-off positions builds up.”

He continued, “I’d like to thank Flo for the great service he has given the Tigers and wish him all the best in his new team and in the future.”