Rickey McGill set a new ENBL record in steals made and inspired the Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles for a 90-74 road win at Valmiera Glass ViA on Tuesday, November 7, at the Vidzeme Olympic Center in northern Latvia.
Players of the game
Rickey McGill did it all for the Eagles.
A former Iona star (2015-2019) registered seven steals in the first three quarters alone.
McGill`s hard work resulted in a double-digits lead for the Tyneside boys.
Dynamic guard finished with 18 points, eight assists and eight steals.
Jordan Nathaniel Johnson came close to a first triple-double in league`s history.
A former Milwaukee and UNLV floor general had amazing 15 points, 10 rebounds and a game high nine assists.
Sean Seneca Knight (Illinois State University) led Valmiera in scoring with 19 points.
Guntis Sīpoliņš had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Key stats
Newcastle Eagles controlled the paint throughout the game, 46-24.
Valmiera worked hard and tied visitors on the offensive glass (12-12) but Marc Steutel`s men were better finishers.
Newcastle also defended better and created options for fast breaks (19-8).
Six Eagles finished in double figures.
The hosts relied on three point shots.
Back-to-back three pointers by Jānis Kaufmanis and Edmunds Elksnis put Valmiera ahead, 29-30.
Valmiera connected 6-of-11 attempts early in the game.
The Eagles improved perimeter defense and held the Latvian team 5-of-25 rest of the way.
Game notes
Valmiera followed the local tradition and played national anthems before the tipoff.
Club anthem Pāri visam Valmiera – Valmiera above everything – followed moments later.
Two drummers and around 1000 fans cheered for the home team.
A group of Newcastle fans traveled to northern Latvia and were rewarded with a first road win.
The Eagles improved to 2-1, while Valmiera dropped to 0-2.
Steals | ENBL records
Rickey McGill 8 November 7, 2023, Valmiera 74-90 Newcastle
Derrick Wilson 6 January 25, 2023, Prishtina 73-91 TalTech
Bohdan Bliznyuk 6 February 10, 2023, Šiauliai 73-88 Budivelnyk
Rickey McGill 6 October 4, 2023, Šiauliai 94-92 Newcastle
Format
Four best teams from each group will qualify for the playoffs (A1-B4, A2-B3, A3-B2, A4-B1).
The 2024 playoffs – home and away, best-of-two series – will take place from February 1 until March 20.
The 2024 Final Four will take place on April 9-10.
Standings, as of November 7, 2023
Group A
Uniclub Casino Juventus 2-0 (+31)
Bristol Flyers 1-1 (+16)
Landstede Hammers Zwolle 1-0 (+15)
Tartu Ulikool Maks&Moorits 1-0 (+12)
Spartak Pleven 0-2 (-29)
Svendborg Rabbits 0-1 (-15)
Polski Cukier Start Lublin 0-1 (-30)
Hapoel Beer Sheva
Group B
Seriös Group Newcastle Eagles 2-1 (+20)
Zastal Zielona Gora 2-1 (+9)
Šiauliai 2-1 (-16)
CSO Voluntari 1-1 (+21)
Royal Basket Liège 1-0 (+23)
Valmiera Glass ViA 0-2 (-22)
Basket Brno 0-1 (-6)
Keila Coolbet 0-1 (-29)
Tie-breaker 1: Zielona Gora vs Šiauliai 1-0, +26.
Tie-breaker 2: Šiauliai vs Newcastle 1-0, +2
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