Men
WOMen
February 18, 2026
Game Report: MCR 105-79 Newcastle Eagles
-5625.jpg)
Manchester Basketball convincingly beat Newcastle Eagles 105-79 in the Super League Basketball Championship.
It was a phenomenal home win led by 25 points off the bench from the red-hot Jordan Johnson. He went 7-14 from the field, hitting four threes, dished 6 assists, and had 5 rebounds from the backcourt.
Pjay Smith brought his form, which led Manchester to the SLB Cup final last week, into league action, backing up Johnson with 23 points from the point guard position. He went an efficient 8-12 and grabbed 7 boards.
Manchester’s strength in recent weeks has been in their depth, and that was certainly the case against the Eagles in this one. They won the bench battle 44-24, and all of the team’s 11 players contributed points in the game.
They dominated Newcastle across every department in a commanding victory, shooting more efficiently, defending with greater intensity, and crashing the boards to tremendous effect.
This wasn’t quite a wire-to-wire victory as Manchester were forced to recover from a hot Eagles start. The visitors jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first, but they were quickly caught by Manchester, who led after one after four quick points from Johnson.
The Eagles hung around in the first half, keeping within a score until late in the second. Then Manchester blew the game open in the third quarter. And an 11-0 run midway through the period was capped off by a four-point play from Johnson again.
Free throws from Smith ended the third by giving the hosts a 20-point lead, which they saw out comfortably in the fourth quarter to claim a statement win. As the game ended young British talent Demi Babalola hit a clutch 3 to bring up the 100, his first ever professional points.
Manchester are now 11-9 in the Super League Basketball Championship, as they look to kick on during the second half of the season.
Manchester play the first of a double-header against league-leading London Lions on Sunday. They host the Lions at the NBPC in league action on February 22, with the game starting at 3pm.
Manchester Basketball convincingly beat Newcastle Eagles 105-79 in the Super League Basketball Championship.
It was a phenomenal home win led by 25 points off the bench from the red-hot Jordan Johnson. He went 7-14 from the field, hitting four threes, dished 6 assists, and had 5 rebounds from the backcourt.
Pjay Smith brought his form, which led Manchester to the SLB Cup final last week, into league action, backing up Johnson with 23 points from the point guard position. He went an efficient 8-12 and grabbed 7 boards.
Manchester’s strength in recent weeks has been in their depth, and that was certainly the case against the Eagles in this one. They won the bench battle 44-24, and all of the team’s 11 players contributed points in the game.
They dominated Newcastle across every department in a commanding victory, shooting more efficiently, defending with greater intensity, and crashing the boards to tremendous effect.
This wasn’t quite a wire-to-wire victory as Manchester were forced to recover from a hot Eagles start. The visitors jumped out to a 9-2 lead in the first, but they were quickly caught by Manchester, who led after one after four quick points from Johnson.
The Eagles hung around in the first half, keeping within a score until late in the second. Then Manchester blew the game open in the third quarter. And an 11-0 run midway through the period was capped off by a four-point play from Johnson again.
Free throws from Smith ended the third by giving the hosts a 20-point lead, which they saw out comfortably in the fourth quarter to claim a statement win. As the game ended young British talent Demi Babalola hit a clutch 3 to bring up the 100, his first ever professional points.
Manchester are now 11-9 in the Super League Basketball Championship, as they look to kick on during the second half of the season.
Manchester play the first of a double-header against league-leading London Lions on Sunday. They host the Lions at the NBPC in league action on February 22, with the game starting at 3pm.
-3295.jpg)
-0339.jpg)
