Friday 14th April 2023
BBL Championship
B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 80 Manchester Giants 71
The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks made it 9 wins in their last 10 BBL Championship games with a hard fought but extremely satisfying 80-71 win over Manchester Giants. Both sides battled a burgeoning foul count but in between stoppages, an intriguing encounter played out. 19 points from Kipper Nichols and a 16 point, 11 rebound outing from Bennett Koch saw the Sharks continue their recent momentum and move into a three-way tie for fifth place with the Giants and Cheshire Phoenix.
Starting Fives
Sharks: Nelson, Pipkins, Ratinho, Ramsey, Koch.
Giants: Green, Lee, Williams, Roberson, Fletcher.
Key Moments
The Sharks didn’t allow Manchester to get into their usual free-scoring stride, turning the tables with a 28-17 opening quarter. Bennett Koch was key to the pacy opening – his ten point contribution saw him cleverly draw a series of fouls and make some key finishes as the Sharks went out to a 16-11 lead. A pair of Jordan Ratinho three point shots, including one effort out of the corner inside the final 15 seconds underlined a textbook first period.
The second stanza was somewhat more choppy as an eye-watering 22 fouls were registered by half time. Manchester finally found their range as former Shark Dirk Williams opened with a triple and followed that with a long two and a corner trey as the gap closed to 33-27. Koch continued a standout night with a trademark hook and a terrific block on the high-scoring Williams. To put a punctuation mark on the half, the Wisconsin native stuffed the ball home in the final second to see the Sharks in front by 38-30 at half time.
The Giants started strongly at the start of the second half. Threes from William Lee and Tahj Green saw the gap back down to four at 40-36 but the Sharks fought back with a defensive masterclass. A 12-0 run was started by a Koch drive into the paint and ended on a Kipper Nichols triple following some superlative ball movement with the score at 54-38. Marcus Delpeche finished his own offensive rebound as a 20-13 quarter gave the hosts a 58-43 third quarter lead.
Again Manchester came strong at the top of the fourth period. Green opened with a three and 11 points in a hot shooting streak from another former Shark in Nicholas Lewis threatened to push the momentum in favour of the Lancastrians. Instead of a Sharks capitulation, their recent resilience again came to the fore as Jalon Pipkins hit a big triple and skipper Rodney Glasgow followed suit with the score reading 72-63. The final 30 seconds saw Manchester trying to stop the clock. Successful trips to the line for Kipper Nichols and Devearl Ramsey concluded a very satisfying 80-71 win for the Sharks.
MVP
The load was shared once again for the Sharks. Rodney Glasgow (10) and Jalon Pipkins (12) put up double figure scoring and there was a Sharks career high in rebounding from Devearl Ramsey with 10. The joint MVPs were inseparable. A perfect eight out of eight from the line was just one facet of a 19 point, 3 rebound, 1 steal and 1 block night from a classy-looking Kipper Nichols. Equalling his eye-catching evening was Bennett Koch. His stock continued to rise with a 16 point, 11 rebound double-double that also contained 1 assist, 1 steal and 3 blocked shots for an efficiency rating of 24.
Post Game Interview
Jordan Ratinho spoke of the Sharks overcoming a shortened rotation and foul trouble to claim a very pleasing win over the Giants.
Next game
Leicester Riders v B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, Friday April 21st 2023, Morningside Arena, 7.45pm Tip Off.
Image
Adam Bates
