Basketball: Dorsey keeps the heat on title rivals

Newcastle Eagles and Sheffield Sharks moved into joint leadership of the BBL, for 24 hours at least, with emphatic victories last night to maintain the pressure on Guildford Heat.

The Eagles won 94-73 at Milton Keynes, outscoring the Lions 46-25 in the second half, while Sheffield beat London United 83-67. Both clubs now have 24 wins, one more than the Heat, but they have played four games fewer than their title rivals.

Guildford can regain the outright lead this weekend if they win at Leicester Riders tonight and beat Plymouth Raiders tomorrow.

The Eagles, the defending champions, have hauled themselves back into contention with nine straight victories. Tony Dorsey led their scorers last night with 20 points as they saw off the Lions with a fourth-quarter 14-0 run to lead 92-68. Olu Babulola, the Great Britain international, added 17 with another 16 from American Shawan Robinson.

Kevin Griffin led the Lions resistance with 19 points.