REPORT: Battling Sharks go down in London

Sunday 22^nd January 2023

BBL Championship

London Lions 75 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 63

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks battled gamely but went down to a 75-63 loss on the road at London Lions. Despite having an important Euro Cup game against Gran Canaria in midweek, the Lions chose to field ex-NBA stars Sam Dekker and Kosta Koufos, who rewarded the home side with 17 and 14 points respectively. The Sharks kept the game close to beyond half time, paced by 19 points from Kipper Nichols and the energy of Devearl Ramsey but ultimately, the loaded London roster came good in the end.

Starting Fives

Lions: Best, Taylor, Dekker, Sharma, Koufos.

Sharks: Nelson, Nichols, Ratinho, Ramsey, Koch.

Key Moments

There appeared to be an air of inevitability as the game commenced with London going out to a 9-2 lead on Best’s stepback two. Full credit to the Sharks however as Jordan Ratinho’s trey was followed by a banked Kipper Nichols three and when Ratinho hit his second in transition, matters were levelled at 13-13. Devearl Ramsey capped some superlative shooting from the Sharks with another three to claim the lead at 15-16 and when Ratinho made his third of the contest, followed by a further Ramsey basket, the visitors were fully deserving of a 22-23 first quarter advantage.

The Sharks battled on to maintain their lead until midway through the second period. Nichols and-one play made it 27-30 and then a pair of Rodney Glasgow free throws extended that by two. It wasn’t until the final three minutes of the half that London edged in front. Kosta Koufos’ putback swung things in the Lions favour at 39-34, followed by a pair of Sam Dekker baskets as that quickly became 43-34. The Sharks hung on to London’s shirt-tails by half time however as Nichols’ reverse layup and a successful trip to the line saw the game still in the balance at 45-38.

The Sharks took that lead down to three points at the start of the third stanza. Ramsey went coast to coast following a super steal to make it 45-42 and when Kipper Nichols was successful from downtown, there was still little to choose between the two sides at 48-45. The Sharks came unstuck on an unsportsmanlike call on Jordan Ratinho. A 9-0 run ended by Dekker saw the hosts open up a slight gap as the former Toronto Raptor added four more to take it out to 61-48. Sa’eed Nelson’s drive to the hoop ended the quarter with the score at 63-50 in the Lions favour.

The South Yorkshire side claimed the final period by 12-13 but were unable to sufficiently break down the two/three zone employed by London and make in-roads into the points difference. A baseline two from Bennett Koch saw the Lions into a timeout at 68-54 and a Rodney Glasgow triple cut the deficit by a further one at 70-57. London rested Dekker and Koufos but the rest of their bench took over – Bradley Kaboza’s and-one score plus a pair from the stripe by Jonathan Komagum sealed a 75-63 victory for the men from the capital.

MVP

Sa’eed Nelson facilitated a competitive Sharks display with 7 assists to go with 10 points, 3 rebounds and a steal. Kipper Nichols led all scorers with 19 points as well as 6 rebounds and an assist, finding the hoop in a variety of eye-catching ways. The MVP in only his third appearance was Devearl Ramsey. His energy and all-round game caught the eye on his way to an index of 17. His 11 points came on five of nine shooting with 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals to boot to bode well for the programme of games to come.

Next game

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Plymouth City Patriots, Friday January 27^th 2022, Ponds Forge, 7.30pm Tip Off.

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Adam Bates