WORCESTER Wolves were brushed aside 102-87 by Newcastle Eagles as they slumped to a third successive British Basketball League defeat.

Having lost out to lower-placed sides last weekend in Sheffield Sharks and Manchester Giants, Wolves were unable to make any impact against the title-challenging Eagles at the University of Worcester.

Newcastle were without one of the league’s leading rebounders in Kareem Maddox which left a significant hole around the basket.

While Worcester were able to capitalise on this by grabbing more than twice as many rebounds than their opponents, they were unable to convert many of these second chances into points.

Eagles’ veteran forward Charles Smith made over two-thirds of his shot attempts and finished the game with a huge 40 points, while, in stark contrast, the Wolves shot woefully from three-point range, making only three out of an incredible 30 attempts.

Alex Owumi pulled down 12 rebounds to accompany his 26 points, while Stan Ocitti also registered double-double statistics when notching 18 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

Smith’s 40 points for Newcastle were supported by 24 from Damon Huffman.