Newcastle Eagles defeated Milton Keynes Lions 88-72 in front of 4,000 fans at the Telewest Arena last night, to maintain the pressure on the BBL Championship leaders Chester Jets.

Newcastle Eagles defeated Milton Keynes Lions 88-72 in front of 4,000 fans at the Telewest Arena last night, to maintain the pressure on the BBL Championship leaders Chester Jets.

The Eagles are two points behind the Jets, both have five games remaining and meet at the Telewest Arena on Friday week, 8 April. The Eagles took control in the second quarter last night, outscoring an under-strength Lions 24-9 to lead 49-29 at the half.

Andrew Sullivan top-scored with 25 for the Eagles, while Charles Smith hit seven points in the second-quarter run.

Milton Keynes' bid to beat Plymouth Raiders for eighth place in the Championship, and the last qualifying spot for the play-off quarter-finals, suffered two setbacks this week.

First, American rookie Brett Longpre quit the Lions to return home. Then Birmingham Bullets' coach Darran Ling axed Americans LaTaryl Williams and Johnny Phillips to make the BBL's bottom club non-competitive for tonight's game against Plymouth. A full-strength Bullets beat Plymouth earlier in the season but have no chance tonight.