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BBL Eagles fall victim to late Giants burst
Manchester Giants will go into the defence of their uni-ball Trophy on Saturday night with a win on the backs after pulling clear in the final minutes for a 81-76 win over Newcastle Eagles on Thursday night at MEN Arena.
A game-high 25 points from Roy Hairston helped Nick Nurse's team to extend their lead at the head of the Northern Conference to six points over Sheffield, their 27-3 record still the finest in the league.
The struggling Eagles did however make their hosts work hard for their points.
Giants, who had been down by as many as 13 points in the third quarter, were forced to rally as Dorsey bagged his team's first eight points in a 13-5
run at the start of the fourth quarter, which levelled the score at 68-68.However the Tyneside team did not surrender and were trailing just 72-71 with three minutes left before a 6-1 Giants burst took them definitively clear. Charles Smith and Shahid Perkins both missed from three point range in the final seconds and it was Tony Dorsey - who shook off an injury to notch 22 points, who finished off the Geordies from the foul line.
The final stages marked something of a comeback for the home side who trailed 36-43 at half-time, hindered by some woeful three-point shooting. In fact, Dorsey's trey in the third quarter was his team's sole conversion from 100 attempts all night and if the visitors had received more from Ralph Blalock, who fouled out with just six points, they might have done better.
Instead it was Smith and Andrew Mavis who led Craig Lynch's team with 20 points apiece.
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