By Rob Dugdale

Veteran forward Tony Dorsey scored 20 points to lead the Newcastle Eagles to an 83-73 win over Sheffield in the first BBL play-offs semi-final.

Dorsey also took 11 rebounds and dished off five assists as the Eagles held on to reach their third successive play-offs final.

Jeremy Hyatt added 18 points and Shawan Robinson had 15 for the Eagles, while Jeff Bonds hit 13 points for Sheffield.

The Eagles will face Scottish Rocks in the final, who shocked Guildford 78-71.

Sterling Davis led the Rocks scorers with 14 points and Maurice Hampton added 11, while Brian Dux and Michael Martin hit 23 each for the Heat.

The Rocks led by as many as 20 points in the first half but Guildford reduced the lead to just three points with 34 seconds remaining of the match.

Hampton and Gareth Murray each then hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.

The fourth-seeded Rocks caught Guildford, a traditionally slow-starting team, cold with a blistering first quarter.

Hampton, Murray and Rob Yanders combined for four three-pointers in a first-quarter lead of 22-13.

When Swedish forward Chris Anrin hit his second three-pointer just before half-time, the lead was 48-28 to the Rocks.

Recent BBL Play-offs winners 2006: Newcastle 2005: Newcastle 2004: Sheffield 2003: Scots Rocks 2002: Chester

But the Rocks missed their first six three-point attempts of the second half and league winners Guildford inched their way back.

They reduced the lead to single figures with 7:49 left of the fourth quarter.

With 2:45 remaining, Dux hit a three-point play to reduce the Heat's arrears to 62-65.

Threes by Yanders and Julius Joseph gave the Heat some breathing room.

Although Dan Wardrope replied for Guildford with a three, Hampton and Murray held firm from the line.

In the first semi-final, Sheffield made the better start, with Bonds leading them to a 22-18 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

But Dorsey, relentlessly using his trademark spin move, was a class act throughout and had 13 points in the first half.

Three threes from Hyatt in the third quarter helped the Eagles to a 60-56 lead after three quarters.

And former England international Dorsey again steadied Newcastle's nerves in the final quarter with five points in a row as the lead grew to double figures.

Blake Shelton and Atiba Lyons added 13 points each in Sheffield's losing cause.

The Sharks had already lost two semi-finals already this season - in the Cup and the Trophy - and also fell just a single win short of the league title.