Newcastle Eagles completed their uni-ball trophy pool stages with victory at Meadowbank but Tony Garboletto's side laboured before out-lasting Edinburgh Rocks 95-84 on Saturday.

Eagles - who face Leopards in the quarter-finals - were made to wait until the final minutes before knocking down the challenge of the winless hosts.

"I thought we did OK under the circumstances," said Garboletto, whose side have now won nine consecutive matches. 

"We wanted to run some different things tonight but the nature of the contest prevented that."

With Tony Windless exiting the match in the first quarter with a bruised rib, it was left to his colleagues to carry the load, the Newcastle bench receiving extended minutes.

Eight unanswered points around the first quarter break put the Scots 24-18 ahead and although the visitors came back to lead 38-45 at half-time, they could not blast decisively clear.

With Ted Berry shooting his way to a team-high 24 points, the Rocks enjoyed a positive spell during a rare display of cohesive play, a 14-3 burst late in the third period ensuring they would lead into the final quarter.

However the Eagles - sparked by Donnie Johnson's 27 points and nine rebounds - ran up a late 7-0 burst to clinch the tie.

"We had a chance to win but we didn’t play as a team down the stretch," bemoaned Ted Berry who led the Rocks with 27 points. "We didn’t fight for the game the way we should have."