Andre Smith led the way for Everton with 30 points

Andre Smith scored 30 points as the Everton Tigers beat the Newcastle Eagles 97-86 to book a place in next month's BBL Cup final.

The Tigers, who had been 23 points down in the first leg, dominated the second half to win 202-198 on aggregate.

A 17-7 run in the third quarter gave the Tigers a 15-point lead and the Eagles, led by 21 points from Charles Smith, never led the tie again.

The win means the Tigers will play the Plymouth Raiders in January's final.

The Eagles had won last weekend's first leg by seven points, but struggled almost from the start to maintain their lead in the tie. They trailed 29-20 as early in the second quarter.

Trey Moore scored 21 points for Newcastle, who trailed by just four points at the half-time interval. Centre Lynard Stewart added 16 points.

But Everton's Smith scored 18 of his points in the second half as the Tigers took command of the game, posting a 76-61 lead a minute from the end of the third quarter.

Josh Gross added 21 points and GB international Richard Midgley 16 as the Tigers, playing in just their second BBL season, booked their place in the 18 January final at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena.

E-mail this to a friend

Printable version