BIG Storage Cheshire Jets travelled to the champions and were close to causing a huge shock before being eliminated from the BBL play-offs.
League champions Newcastle were made to work hard by eighth-seed Jets before booking their trip to Birmingham with an 88-83 win in the north east.
The Jets proved a tough side to shake off but a Reggie Jackson steal off Shawn Myers, which could have seen the Jets player close the gap to just two in the final 30 seconds, eventually proved to be the decisive play.
Trey Moore scored one of two from the line to put Eagles up by five with only five ticks left on the clock and there was no way back for the visitors.
The first quarter saw Jets break the match open with a 7-0 run to take the lead at 13-6. Newcastle gradually worked their way back into it with threes by Andrew Bridge and Jackson helping them close to 19-18 at the period ended 22-21 to the Jets.
Eagles seized control in the second quarter to go up 37-24. However, a 10-3 run by Jets to close the half pulled the score back to 42-36 at the break.
An 8-0 start to the third quarter by Newcastle seemed to spell the end of the Jets challenge but yet again they refused to buckle. Frank Phifer scored six points in a 13-4 run to bring the score back to 54-51.
Newcastle used a 7-2 burst, including a thunderous dunk and one by Great Britain training squad member Tap Toney from a Trey Moore alley-oop, to move out to 61-53. The sides traded points for the rest of the quarter at Eagles took a 69-61 lead into the final stanza.
Jets put together a 9-2 run to bring the scores back to 76-73, but that was as close as they got.
