Friday 17th April
SLB Championship
Newcastle Eagles 82 - 85 Sheffield Sharks
The B.Braun Sheffield Sharks soared to victory against the Newcastle Eagles, going 3-1 in all SLB Championship matches. A hard earned victory saw the Sharks trailing by 16 points at the end of the second quarter, to take the win at the end with a 3 point gap. The MVP award went to Nick Kern Jr after gathering a total of 24 points, 11 rebounds and 1 assist. Though there were some amazing performances from Dirk Williams and Fahro Alihodzic. Sharks maintain their 4th place spot in the Championship with 32 points, as the end of the season looms closer with playoffs just on the horizon.
Starting Five:
Eagles: Ray’sean Taylor, Deion Hammond, Cole Long, Emmanuel Kanwei, Mitch Clarke
Sharks: Dirk Williams, Rodney Chatman III, Jordan Ratinho, Nick Kern Jr, Fahro Alihodzic
Key Moments:
The B.Braun Sheffield Sharks got off to a rough start as the Newcastle Eagles opened up the scoring through Ray’sean Taylor (2-0). Followed shortly by a steal from Deion Hammond who put up another two (4-0). However, Fahro Alihodzic was there when needed and laid up a two of his own to get the Sharks on the score board (4-2). Sharks tried their hardest as the Eagles pulled further away from them, as Dirk Williams found the basket and put up another two (14-4). A beautiful pass from Prentiss Nixon to Fahro Alihodzic brought another two points to the Sharks (17-8). A foul on Prentiss Nixon brought him to the line to bring the gap down to 8 points, after making two free throws (20-12). A big three from Troy D’Amico kept that gap at 8 as the Eagles tried to pull away again (28-20). Nick Kern Jr was also brought to the line after being fouled (30-22). The end of the first quarter saw the Sharks trailing by 9 points (31-22).
The Newcastle Eagles opened up the scoring in the second quarter too (33-22) but Fahro Alihodzic was not far behind with two points of his own (33-24). Dirk Williams managed to knock the ball from the Eagles, made it downhill, put up the two and drew a foul to get an extra point on the free throw (33-27). Nick Kern Jr tried to close the gap as he put up a three of his own (36-30). Troy D’Amico went for another three but missed, however he managed to draw a foul after missing the recycle, making both shots (47-35). Nick Kern Jr managed to break the Eagles 18 point lead over the Sharks with a rebound from Jordan Ratinho to end the second quarter 53-37.
Dirk Williams opened the scoring in the third quarter with two points, getting the ball rolling for the Sharks (53-39). Ray’sean Taylor went for three points for the Eagles but missed, opening an opportunity for the Sharks as Dirk Williams passed over to Nick Kern Jr who made the three from the corner (53-42). Sharks tried their hardest to catch up with the Eagles, as Prentiss Nixon passed to Dirk Williams who put the three and brought the game within 5 points (56-51). Rodney Glasgow Jr made sure to keep that 5 point gap as he put up a two of his own (60-55). The comeback was on for the Sharks as Dirk Williams put up another two to make it 63–60, followed by Rodney Glasgow Jr with another two pointer to bring the game to 63-62. The end of the third quarter saw Sharks trailing by two points after a hard fought game (64-62).
As the fourth quarter opened, both sides missed three pointers before the Eagles scored a 2 pointer through Josh Ward-Hibbert (66-62). Rodney Chatman III was not far behind with a 2 pointer of his own to close the gap again (66-64). Nick Kern Jr then tied up the game with a layup for the two points (66-66), the Eagles responded with another two points through Gus Okafor (68-66) and Nick Kern Jr again scored another two points shortly after to tie the game for the second time (68-68). Jordan Ratino put the Sharks in front for the first time in the game, after sinking both free throws after being fouled (68-70). Nick Kern Jr put up another two points through another layup and kept the Sharks lead (71-74). Rodney Chatman III put up a two to bring the Sharks to a 5 point lead (73-78). Dirk Williams went to the line in the final few seconds of the game and sank both free throws to bring the score to 82-85 and secured a beautiful comeback for the Sharks.
MVP:
In an intense game every Sharks player made sure to play their absolute best, and there were three top standouts in their spectacular win over Newcastle. With an impactful 29:18, especially in the first half, Fahro Alihodzic collected 13 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. With 5 points more and a brilliant performance throughout the game was Dirk Williams, who gathered 18 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 1 steal. The standout of the game though, goes to Nick Kern Jr who racked up a time of 33:39 throughout the game and 24 points, 11 rebounds, 1 assist and 2 turnovers. The Sharks have now won 4 out of 5 of their last games and have beaten the Newcastle Eagles 3-1 in all SLB championship games.
Next Game:
Home: B.Braun Sheffield Sharks vs Leicester Riders, Sunday 19th April, Tip off 4pm
Away: Leicester Riders vs B.Braun Sheffield Sharks, Tuesday 21st April, Tip off 7:30pm, Mattioli Arena
Photo: Josh Rackham
