Newcastle Eagles moved to the summit of the British Basketball League with an 84-74 away victory over title rivals Sheffield Sharks.

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• More than the Games

The lead changed hands on several occasions and Sharks coach Atiba Lyons refused to blame the injuries being carried by star names Todd Cauthorn, Matt Gorman, Ryan Patton and Mike Cook.

Despite his problems the free-scoring Cook still contributed 29 points while Charles Smith netted a 23-points for Newcastle with an equally dominant performance.

"I'm disappointed but what impressed me was that the guys kept their heads down and kept fighting," said Lyons.

"They didn't give up, and fought back well, which is a good sign."

Everton Tigers - whose new American signing Steven Rush has just arrived German side Franken Hexer - were made to fight before emerging narrow 84-84 winners over Worcester Wolves.

Dzaflo Larkai  scored 20-points for the Tigers, whose coaching staff will be keen to address their obvious defensive issues ahead of Saturday's trip to Guildford Heat.