REPORT: Glasgow lights the blue touch paper under Sharks win

Friday 5^th November 2021

BBL Championship

Manchester Giants 88 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 89

Remember, remember the fifth of November! Well, the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks are unlikely to forget it as a Rodney Glasgow buzzer beater secured a dramatic second win in consecutive weeks over the Manchester Giants. The Lancastrians led by as many as ten but were unable to shake off the attentions of the Sharks throughout. Jonathan Williams three pointer reduced the deficit to one inside the final twenty seconds before Glasgow lit the blue touch paper under a dramatic Sharks victory.

Starting Fives

Giants: McKnight, Clark, Anderson J, Steel, Armstrong.

Sharks: Anderson A, Williams, Nichols, Ratinho, Koch.

Key Moments

It was always likely that the game would be materially different to the Sharks outstanding win in Sheffield just seven days earlier as a cagey first quarter played out. Rodney Glasgow equalled Jamell Anderson’s opening three free throws from beyond the arc but the Giants went up by 13-6 on Martaveous McKnight’s corner triple midway through the period. Manchester pushed that out to 20-12 but four successful trips to the line by Jonathan Williams saw the stanza end at 20-16.

The Sharks chipped away at the Manchester lead and a 0-9 run was capped on a Bennett Koch dunk after a terrific passing move involving Glasgow and Aaron Anderson. 26-33 on Glasgow’s sizeable triple gave the Sharks their biggest lead of the game but the nip and tuck format of the game continued as McKnight levelled matters at 33-33. Five Joe Mvuezolo points restored the Sharks advantage but the Giants finished strongly to claim a 44-38 half time lead through McKnight from downtown.

A three point shootout saw a high-scoring third quarter tied by 28-28. Jordan Ratinho connected three times in the quarter from distance, going on land five from his seven attempts as Manchester’s Jamell Anderson and Dan Clark hit triples of their own. Nine scores from beyond the arc couldn’t see either side break free from the other as the period ended at 72-66.

An enthralling contest became must-watch viewing in a dramatic final quarter. The Sharks saw Ratinho and Kipper Nichols collect their fourth fouls as Great Britain skipper Dan Clark gave the Giants a nine point lead at 82-73. Clark collected his fourth foul and left the game immediately gaining a technical in frustration as Manchester’s lead varied between four and six points. Heading into the final thirty seconds, McKnight maintained the four point difference at 88-84. Williams three point score pulled the Sharks to within one with twenty seconds left and out of a Manchester timeout, some intense Sharks defence saw the Giants go out of bounds on the sideline. With 6.7 seconds to complete the final play, Kipper Nichols found Rodney Glasgow, whose one handed flick dropped through the hoop as the final buzzer sounded to give the Sharks a memorable second league win.

MVP

A game in Manchester’s gym was always going to be a tough prospect but to the Sharks credit, they never let the talented Giants side get away. Despite looking over his shoulder at foul trouble, Kipper Nichols still contributed 17 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block. Jonathan Williams led the Sharks scoring with 18, cutting and slashing to the basket with aplomb and also hitting that crucial late trey that cut the deficit to one. A superlative display of three point shooting saw the award go the way of Jordan Ratinho however. His 17 points came on five of seven triples with a pair of free throws to boot along with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and a steal.

Next game

BBL Cup Quarter Final – opposition, date, venue and time to be confirmed.

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Adam Bates