Basketball: Eagles stay in hunt as title race goes to wire

Newcastle Eagles' determination to take the BBL Championship title race to the wire was too much for Thames Valley Tigers at Bracknell on Saturday, when the Tyneside club outscored the Tigers 28-2 either side of half-time on their way to a 113-83 victory.

Newcastle Eagles' determination to take the BBL Championship title race to the wire was too much for Thames Valley Tigers at Bracknell on Saturday, when the Tyneside club outscored the Tigers 28-2 either side of half-time on their way to a 113-83 victory.

The Eagles' win brought them level at the top of the table with Chester Jets, who were at home to Plymouth Raiders last night, with the clubs due to meet at Newcastle's Telewest Arena a week on Friday in the penultimate game of the regular season.

After closing the second quarter with a 12-2 run, the Eagles opened the third 16-0 and kept the Tigers scoreless for five minutes to go 81-56 ahead. The Eagles' Jeremy Hyatt completed his game-high 31 points by the end of the third, with the help of seven three-pointers.

London Towers moved into joint third after beating Scottish Rocks 80-72 at Crystal Palace. Former Rock Niki Arinze led Towers with 27 points as they held the visitors to 11 points in the third quarter to lead 58-51.

Plymouth struggled to subdue an under-strength Birmingham Bullets but Terrence Durham, who finished with 27 points and 26 rebounds, steered the Raiders to a 73-66 win to overtake Milton Keynes Lions for the final play-off quarter-final slot. Bullets had just seven players after axing American duo LaTaryl Williams and Johnny Phillips last week.