The Newcastle Eagles' hopes of becoming the first team to win the BBL play-off finals four years in a row came to an abrupt end as Milton Keynes Lions triumphed 72-63 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham.

Playmaker Terrell Brown again led the Milton Keynes effort, scoring 17 points, including four three-pointers as his team held off Newcastle's fourth-quarter charge to secure a place in tomorrow's final against either Guildford or Plymouth.

Yorick Williams added 13 points for the Lions, including a crucial final-quarter, four-point play.

Newcastle, whose starters looked out of sorts, were led by Steve Leven's 19 points, with player-coach Fab Flournoy and BBL Player of the Year Lynard Stewart adding 14 each.

The Eagles' indifferent start, which saw them lose the first quarter 12-18, prompted Flournoy to go to his bench for scoring power and he found it in he form of Leven, the Australian-born guard, who hit a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter as the league champions came back to within a point of the Lions at half-time.

It was in the third quarter that the wheels threatened to come off for Newcastle.

Brown, whose quarter-final performance against the Scottish Rocks had ensured a first finals appearance for his team, hit a trio of three-pointers in a 12-point haul that helped establish a 48-35 lead with just over five minutes remaining of the period.

Also of concern for Flournoy was the loss of starting forward Olu Babalola, last season's finals MVP, who had to be benched after receiving a fourth foul when the teams briefly squared up after the Lions' Tony Windless reacted to a hard foul by Leven.

Charles Smith and Leven then hit threes to spark a 16-5 Eagles close to the quarter, to leave them trailing by just 53-51.

t the start of the fourth, however, Brown again assumed command of the game, hitting a fourth three and then feeding Williams, fouled in scoring a three with six minutes remaining, to establish a 65-55 lead.

Stewart, Flournoy and Smith combined to score eight unanswered points for Newcastle, but when Windless hit a two with 90 seconds left on the clock - the first score for the Lions in almost five minutes - Newcastle lost first Flournoy and then Babalola to fifth fouls and their chances of an escape followed them out of the game.

Williams and Mike New scored five free throws in the remaining time to clinch the Lions' first appearance in a play-off final in the team's 20 seasons in the BBL.

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