Thanks to Rickey McGill the Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles ended their southern odyssey in style and have made it six wins in a row at the expense of the Surrey Scorchers.
McGill had 30 points on 11/13 shooting including 6/8 from three-point range, the latter all coming in the second half as the Eagles downed the Scorchers 100-87 in the British Basketball League on Saturday.
Starting Five
Surrey Scorchers starting five: Abdul Mohammed, Saiquan Jamison, Padiet Wang, Josh Steel, Quin Cooper.
Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles starting five: Rickey McGill, Devin Whitfield, Jordan Johnson, Darius Defoe, Tajh Green.
First Half
After both traded buckets in the early going, Newcastle found the first glimpse of daylight as a Rickey McGill fast break lay-up gave them a 17-12 lead with 4:15 left in the first.
Surrey had true point guards on the bench, with Justin Robinson returning from illness and Andrew Lawrence, but coach Lloyd Gardner preferred using Padiet Wang as this method has worked recently with two wins out of three.
The introduction of Robinson gave Surrey some stability, and with Wang playing in his more favoured position, along with back-to-back triples from Jordan Hunt, the hosts tied the game at 19-19.
However, the Eagles, shooting 57% from the field, edged ahead 26-25 heading into the second.
Free-flowing and reasonably even in the first ten minutes, something had to give. Six quick points from Scott Spencer provided the visitors with some sunshine.
But Quin Cooper blocked it out with five points in response to tie the game again at 32-32 with two minutes played.
It was only in the latter stages of the second that Newcastle created space in an otherwise close first half. A 14-4 run en route to a 49-40 lead at the half.
Second Half
Tajh Green quickly established a double-digit lead to start the second but Surrey, in desperate need to get back into the game found the right gear to accelerate in the third.
A 10-0 response to Green’s opening bucket with back-to-back three-pointers from Abdul Mohammed and Josh Steel narrowed the gap to 51-50. Leaving the Eagles no choice but to call a timeout.
The timeout rejuvenated Rickey McGill, who landed three quick triples for the visitors to give them more breathing space.
And McGill proved to be the difference in the third with five three-pointers in the quarter for 24 points as Newcastle led 79-70.
That spurt in the third proved to be the game-changer as the Eagles piled on the points in a dominant second half.
Cooper paced Surrey with 21 points.
Player of the Game
Rickey McGill was the difference for Newcastle. He had 30 points, eight assists and four steals for an index rating of 41, the first player in the British Basketball League to achieve such a feat this season.
| Team | Name | Points | Rebounds | Assists |
| Surrey Scorchers | Quin Cooper | 21 | 1 | 2 |
| Surrey Scorchers | Josh Steel | 16 | 2 | 7 |
| Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles | Rickey McGill | 30 | 6 | 8 |
| Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles | Larry Austin Jr. | 14 | 2 | 3 |
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