It was a tough night for us against the Eagles in that second leg – no question. But you have to give credit to Newcastle, they played really well in the second leg, and did it also in the first game. To get back like they did in the first leg after our hot start was impressive.
Rahmon Fletcher was outstanding in both games – scoring the ball, passing the ball – he is a real dynamic player. And his backcourt partner Cortez Edwards played really well after a bit of an off-night in the first leg. Add with their big guy Justin Gordon, who can change a game quickly, you have three guys who are amongst the top ten in the BBL, or close. So, the talent is there, and they showed up on Thursday night. They made plays.
You look at our game and our defence was not good enough early on, and gave up too many scores. But then if you look at how we came back, we went into halftime in a real good position. But then in the third quarter we could not get anything to drop. And when you look back at the losses this season, we have had it is generally that it was the long-range shooting that let us down.
We only made 3 of 24 from the three-point line on Thursday. I said before the game we had to make shots. We did not and they did. When you are in big games that is what it comes down to – making shots when it matters. It is part of basketball.
It was a tough night for us against the Eagles in that second leg – no question. But you have to give credit to Newcastle, they played really well in the second leg, and did it also in the first game. To get back like they did in the first leg after our hot start was impressive.
Rahmon Fletcher was outstanding in both games – scoring the ball, passing the ball – he is a real dynamic player. And his backcourt partner Cortez Edwards played really well after a bit of an off-night in the first leg. Add with their big guy Justin Gordon, who can change a game quickly, you have three guys who are amongst the top ten in the BBL, or close. So, the talent is there, and they showed up on Thursday night. They made plays.
You look at our game and our defence was not good enough early on, and gave up too many scores. But then if you look at how we came back, we went into halftime in a real good position. But then in the third quarter we could not get anything to drop. And when you look back at the losses this season, we have had it is generally that it was the long-range shooting that let us down.
We only made 3 of 24 from the three-point line on Thursday. I said before the game we had to make shots. We did not and they did. When you are in big games that is what it comes down to – making shots when it matters. It is part of basketball.
I said to guys after the game I loved working with them, and I really enjoyed every minute, because it was a real family atmosphere. I also told them how proud of them I was, and proud of what they achieved this season, for our club and for our fans. The fans may not have been in the building, but we felt their support all the way.