Quick rematch for Sharks as Eagles fly south on Sunday

British Basketball League Regular Season

The thrills and spills of the All-Star weekend are now at an end as the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks set their sights on a familiar opponent. The Newcastle Eagles are the Sunday afternoon visitors to the Canon Medical Arena, undoubtedly looking for revenge after the Sharks took a very polished victory in the North East last week. The Eagles preparation won’t be hindered by a European fixture this time around and the Sharks will have to be at their very best to protect their outstanding home record. Completing a tremendous afternoon of hoops will be the B. Braun Sheffield Hatters, who take on Manchester Giants in the 6pm tip off.

Sunday – Sharks v Eagles – Canon Medical Arena – 3.00pm

Tickets – Fanbase | Schedule (fanbaseclub.com)

Ones To Watch

Jordan Johnson – The all-action guard came up with another big performance against the Sharks but couldn’t bring his team-mates along with him on Friday night. He led all scorers with 23 points as well as 2 rebounds and 5 assists but couldn’t prevent the Tynesiders going down by double digits in the end.

Tahj Green – Athletic forward Green was Newcastle’s best performer off the glass in the 77-87 defeat with 7 boards but the Eagles lost the rebounding battle 38-44 against the Sharks. His 16 points bettered a season average of 13.1 but it wasn’t to be on Friday.

Larry Austin Jr – Forms part of that formidable backcourt alongside Johnson and Rickey McGill and was the Eagles second-best shooter, making 6 of 12 for his 12 points last week. Lightning-fast in transition and has a versatile all-round game, claiming 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals as well against the Sharks.

Rickey McGill – Was uncharacteristically quiet against the Sharks with 6 points, 3 rebounds and 4 assists but that was probably testament to the solid defensive work shown by Atiba Lyons team. Averages 17.9 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists so can clearly be filed under the ‘danger man’ category.

Last Meeting

March 15th 2024 – Newcastle Eagles (Johnson 23 Green 16 Austin Jr 12) 77 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks (Green 17 Ramsey 16 Koch 15) 87

Shark Bites

The Sharks lead the season head to head with the Eagles by 2 games to 1 with the basket scores at 245-212. It would take an Eagles victory of more than 33 points to see them seal the season series.

Sunday’s game should see Kipper Nichols reach 150 games played for the Sharks under Atiba Lyons. Only 7 players, Mike Tuck, Zach Gachette, Colin Sing, Olu Babalola, Nicholas Lewis, Bennett Koch and Atiba himself have played more games for the Sharks whilst Atiba has been in charge.

The Sharks win in Newcastle last Friday was their first against a top 5 team – London, Cheshire, Caledonia, Newcastle and Leicester – since defeating the Riders on 17th November 2023. In that time, 9 games against the top 5 were all lost.

The Sharks are 11-4 at home in all competitions but conversely 4-14 on the road. The most comparable previous season to this is 2012-13 which had 16 home wins and 7 home losses, whilst the record in away games was 7 wins and 13 defeats.

SharkNation

These Sharks are getting hungry! Did you see our boy Jalon Pipkins showing out in the dunk contest and the All-Star game last Sunday? Well, now you need to see him do it in person! Hit the ticket link at the top of the page for what promises to be another scintillating afternoon of hoops in South Yorkshire. First up, the Sharks have a mouth-watering rematch with the Eagles at 3pm and a ticket for that game gets you into the Hatters 6pm tip off against Manchester Giants absolutely free of charge! The playoffs are a little over a month away and both teams need you to help us protect our home court. Together we are UNBEATABLE! It’s time to #FearTheFin.

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Adam Bates