Manchester Basketball fell 63-80 in a hard-fought Super League Basketball Trophy group game to the Newcastle Eagles.

Nathan Cayo led the way with 17 points in a spirited effort for the newly formed Manchester outfit, who played out only their second game as a unit without their full cast. Donovan Mitchell also impressed for the hosts with 14 points off the bench, which included a monster alley-oop jam in the fourth.

Manchester generated open looks throughout, which on another day might have fallen, but tonight it was a 5-26 shooting night from behind the arc. Despite the loss, Head Coach Callum Jones' team will take plenty of positives as they build chemistry and conditioning to start the season.

The difference in the game was in the second quarter, which the Eagles won 25-12. The hosts fought back in the third, taking six points out of the deficit to make it a game going into the fourth, but a talented Eagles group took back momentum late to see it out.

Newcastle wing De'sean Allen-Eikens led the game with 21 points and 5 rebounds in a Player of the Game performance, going 7-11 from the field in 26 minutes. He was supported by British basketball veteran Josh Ward-Hibbert, who muscled his way to 13 points and 14 rebounds.

Manchester took the initiative from tip-off by establishing themselves inside. The host's first 10 points came at the bucket, with Marcus Delpeche setting the tone with his physicality at the rim.

He had Manchester's opening scores with two hook shots, followed by Ali Ali, who found an open lane on the fastbreak to make it 6-5. Cayo then drove baseline to build on Manchester's paint presence, taking contact from the Eagles' Allen-Eikens for an and-one play.

While they found no answers early for Manchester’s relentless attack on the rim, triples from Allen-Eikens, Jordan Spencer and Ward-Hibbert kept it close for Newcastle. Ward-Hibbert hit the last of the threes, seeing the visitors snatch a 14-12 lead midway through the first period.

Manchester’s first three came late in the first with Isaih Moore pulling up from the wing and knocking down his fifth straight points, but late form saw Newcastle take the first quarter 24-18. A putback and-one from Seneca Knight marked the final points of the period.

Kyle Carey looked like he’d answered back with a miracle heave from halfcourt on the buzzer. He let his shot go a fraction after the clock expired, however, and his three points were chalked off to make it a six point deficit going into the second period.

Despite the best efforts of Cayo, who brought his game tally to 10 with a long two from the top, the Eagles extended their lead to double digits in the second quarter. Allen-Eikens impressed in all phases of the game for Newcastle, shouldering the scoring load, locking down and defence and flying around the court to contest every rebound.

The 6’6” American rookie had 18 points at the half to Cayo’s 16. Cayo’s contested three from the corner was Manchester’s highlight of the second quarter, which ended with Newcastle leading 49-30.

Following Jones’ halftime talk, Ali came gunning out the gate in the second half with a triple and a play on a loose ball defensively to steal a possession back. Manchester’s ball movement created a plethora of open looks to start the third, but they couldn’t knock them down to make real inroads into the deficit early.

Delpeche did make it a 14 point game, finishing off a lob pass from Ali at the rim, but the Manchester momentum was met by a 6-0 run from Ward-Hibbert. He leant on his experience to take the game over.

As the clock ticked down throughout the third, Manchester found a way to chip into the Newcastle lead. Mitchell got going in the quarter with Manchester’s first three of the second half, then drove inside for an and-one play to make the score 57-44. Another trip to the line then saw Mitchell add another to his team’s tally.

Manchester’s hustle and energy on defence saw the Eagles struggle offensively throughout the third. It took Newcastle eight minutes to muster 10 points in the quarter. This defensive pressure saw Moore throw down a breakaway slam to end the period 48-61- Manchester in contention with 10 minutes to play after winning the third 18-12.

The host’s play in the third meant the start of the final period was pivotal to the game’s outcome. And it was Newcastle who had the better of that phase of the game, starting the fourth 9-2.

Four straight scores made it a 20 point game, the run concluded by Eagles’ veteran Darius Defoe with a patented fadeaway from the post.

Carey and Mitchell connected for the play of the game with 6:20 left, as Carey floated up a pass to his rolling teammate from behind the arc, which Mitchell threw down two-handed. Carey got going late, snatching a steal and a score 30 seconds later to make the score 70-55.

Mitchell’s three, for his 14th points, kept the scoreboard ticking for Manchester, but it was too late in the day, and a three from young Brit Sauveur Kande concluded the action for Newcastle.

Manchester play the second of a three game home stand on Friday October 4, hosting Cheshire Phoenix in their third SLB Trophy group game.