By Rob Dugdale at Guildford

Fab Flournoy (left) and captain Andrew Bridge with the trophy

Newcastle Eagles won the BBL title in thrilling style when they came back from 20 points down for victory at Guildford Heat 108-101 in overtime.

Steve Leven led all scorers with 30 points for the Eagles, while Danny Gilbert's 27 points led the Heat.

The Heat had led 88-68 in the last minute of the third quarter, but Newcastle forced overtime at 96-96 with a 15-3 run to close the game.

In overtime, a three from Andrew Bridge ignited the Eagles' run to the title.

Michael Martin led the Heat's second quarter charge with 15 points as they took a 63-55 half-time lead.

In the third quarter, Guildford started with a 10-2 run to take the first double-digit lead of the night and a 14-6 run at the end of the third quarter gave them an 88-70 lead going into the last 10 minutes.

But the fourth quarter was all Newcastle. Leven reduced the lead to five points with a pair of free throws and a three-pointer with 3:23 remaining.

Although James Jones replied with a three-pointer for Guildford, Newcastle scored the last eight points of the game, forcing overtime with two free throws from Eagles player-coach Fab Flournoy 14 seconds from time.

Newcastle's momentum carried them through the extra period too, with Andrew Bridge's three and three-point play from Leven establishing a seven-point cushion that the Heat never looked likely to lose.

"What we did in the last quarter and overtime is what we normally do in a game," said Flournoy. "Honestly? No - I didn't think were going to win but I wanted us to give ourselves an opportunity."

"Guildford know they can beat us, we know we can beat them. It's all up for grabs in the play-offs Newcastle's Fab Flournoy

Martin finished with 24 points for the Heat and EJ Harrison added 21. Lynard Stewart had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the Eagles, with Darius Defoe coming off the bench to add 18 points.

Newcastle's win was their first of the season over Guildford, who had previously beaten them in the Trophy final and twice in the league.

The Eagles have now regained the league title they won in 2006 and take pole position for the end-of-season play-offs.

"Does this give us a psychological advantage going into the play-offs? I don't actually think so," said Flournoy. "They know they can beat us, we finally know we can beat them. They got the Trophy, we got the league. It's all up for grabs in the play-offs."