Newcastle left with a mountain to climb in Glasgow

Posted: Saturday 24th January 2009 | 12:10

NEWCASTLE Eagles have it all to do in Glasgow this weekend after slumping to an unlikely 92-79 loss against the Sheffield Sharks.

The defeat blew their BBL Trophy group wide open, setting up a difficult final group game for Newcastle against the Scottish Rocks.

Fab Flournoy's side need to recover their form and fitness quickly and lose by no more than two points in Scotland if they're to progress into the semi-finals.

Everton Tigers followed up their BBL Cup Final success at the weekend by securing their qualification into the semi-finals of the BBL Trophy thanks to a thrilling 91-90 victory over the Cheshire Jets.

The Tigers lead 89-84 going into the final minute of the game, but a three-pointer from Stephen Gayle instigated a 6-0 Jets run to give them the lead at 89-90 with less than 20 seconds remaining.

But the Tigers still had a little left in the tank, and Josh Gross bagged the winning basket for the home side as time expired.

Meanwhile, Marshall MK Lions kept alive their hopes of qualifying for the semi-finals of the BBL Trophy after an 85-67 victory over the London Capital.