PAUL SMITH wants his side to regroup for Sunday’s BBL Cup Final against Sheffield Sharks.
The Cheshire Jets head coach is hoping his team can recover from back-to-back league defeats against Worcester Wolves and Newcastle Eagles to claim silverware this weekend.
Jets crashed 76-65 at Worcester on Friday night and then suffered a 75-70 loss against Newcastle at the Northgate Arena on Sunday night.
Club captain James Hamilton top scored against Newcastle who closed the gap between themselves and Sheffield Sharks to just two points at the top of the BBL Championship table.
Jets, who had led 21-20 after the opening quarter, continued to hold the advantage during the second quarter and extended their lead to 47-40 at half-time.
But in the second half the Eagles began to pull themselves back into the game and out-scored their hosts 16-11 in the third period to trim the deficit back to just two points at 58-56.
In the final period both sides traded baskets through the early going, but it was the Eagles who took control of the game to lead 69-62 heading into the closing stages.
The Jets closed the gap to four points at 69-65 with two minutes remaining, but a Joe Chapman basket took the score to 71-67 and effectively sealed victory for the Eagles.
Reggie Jackson led the scoring for Newcastle with 18 points, while Colin O’Reilly (12) and Chez Marks (11) provided back-up for Jets.
Meanwhile, Jets’ cup final opponents, Sheffield Sharks, suffered a 69-60 defeat at Glasgow Rocks in the BBL Trophy tie.
The Sharks led for the majority of the game, leading by as many as 14 points at 36-22 at the half.
The final period saw the Rocks get themselves back into the game thanks to a Rob Yanders three-pointer which instigated a 12-2 tear to give the home side the lead at 62-55.
The Sharks got themselves back into the game and trimmed the deficit to just four points at 64-60 with 1:39 remaining, but five free-throws from Yanders to close out the game and send the Rocks through.