Clutch basket takes Sharks to narrow Surrey road win

Friday 17th January 2025

Super League Basketball Championship

Surrey 89ers 61 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 63

The third meeting between the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks and the Surrey 89ers proved to be the closest of the lot but it was the Sharks who held firm to take a 61-63 victory. A clutch basket from Prentiss Nixon sealed the win inside the final 30 seconds after Surrey had fought back from a 14 point deficit in the third quarter. Drake Jeffries jointly took the game high in points with 17 but the MVP award went the way of Donovan Clay, who came up with a second successive double-double. Leicester, London and the Sharks now all have 9 wins at the top of the table with the Riders suffering one fewer defeat than their rivals.

Starting Fives

89ers: Gooden, James, Steel, Ray, Adelekun.

Sharks: Jeffries, Nixon, Clay, Ratinho, Groves.

Key Moments

Sharks new signing Scottie Lindsey was unable to suit up for the visit to Surrey but his team-mates did a useful job of building a solid half time lead. Donovan Clay’s and-one play kickstarted the Sharks on offence after the 89ers had gone up by 5-0. Surrey’s Cam Gooden and the Sharks’ Prentiss Nixon traded threes but another Clay drive and a Jacob Groves triple saw the Sharks into an 11-17 advantage. A Rodney Glasgow jump shot kept the Sharks in front by 13-19 after the opening ten minutes.

The versatility of the Sharks roster shone through once again as Drake Jeffries hit two triples interspersed with a big dunk as the score became 18-27. A tough Clay basket ended a 2-11 run at 20-33 as Surrey edged back into the game with buckets for Cam Gooden and Mervin James. Jamell Anderson’s trey and a Nixon finish saw the Sharks in command at 26-38 by the interval.

Jacob Groves’ putback at the top of the third period took the Sharks out to a fourteen point lead at 26-40. It was Surrey who had the better of a 19-9 quarter however. A 16-4 spurt was ended on Josh Steel’s three after Dame Adelekun and Jalen Ray had begun the revival. Jamell Anderson stopped the bleeding with a three of his own but Cam Gooden’s triple left the game wide open with the score at 45-47.

The sides traded baskets for the first half of the final stanza until another Jeffries trey opened up a slight 52-56 advantage for the Sharks. The 89ers were undeterred however as seven points from Jalen Ray took them into their first lead since the opening period at 59-56. A James jumper from the corner made it 61-57 but the last three baskets of the game gave the Sharks a hard-fought win. A pair of scores from the eye-catching Jeffries levelled the encounter and it took a tough finish from Prentiss Nixon to put the Sharks ahead by 61-63. The Sharks even had the luxury of Jamell Anderson missing a pair of free throws in a nervy finish as Surrey turned over the ball to send the points back up the M1 to South Yorkshire.

MVP

The Sharks roster is built to weather any storm these days and it was pleasing to see forward Mike Ochereobia claim 6 rebounds with his side being positive 6 while ever he was on court. It was a clutch Prentiss Nixon basket that secured the win as he finished with 7 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and a steal. Also stepping up to the plate was Drake Jeffries. He equalled the game high score of 17 points as well as recording 3 rebounds, 3 steals and a blocked shot in an eye-catching display. It was a more-conventional double-double for Donovan Clay that earned him the MVP award this week however. His early points took him to 15 to go with 11 boards as well as an assist, steal and a block to keep the Sharks in the hunt at the top of the Super League Basketball Championship.

Next Game

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Cheshire Phoenix, Friday 24th January 2025, Canon Medical Arena, Super League Basketball Championship, 7.30pm tip off

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Adam Bates