REPORT: Polished Sharks take the cream away from Devon

Sunday 13^th November 2022

BBL Championship

Plymouth City Patriots 69 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 88

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks returned to action after a break of one week with a very professional 69-88 victory over Plymouth City Patriots. The home side took the first quarter but the Sharks fought back with a very polished display and some trademark defence to secure an impressive win. Six Sharks made double figure scoring including MVP Marcus Delpeche, who recorded a useful double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds.

Starting Fives

Patriots: Hawthorne Jr, Williams, Lanipekun, Dusha, Hassan.

Sharks: Nelson S, Nichols, Ratinho, Glasgow Jr, Koch.

Key Moments

Things looked promising for the Sharks when Kipper Nichols drove the lane early in the first quarter for the and-one play at 2-3. The eight man Plymouth roster suffered an early blow when starter Patrick Lanipekun picked up his third foul with only 3.21 of the game played but despite the setback, they battled into a 21-14 lead thanks to threes from James Hawthorne Jr and Elvisi Dusha. Channel Banks found success from behind the arc himself but a 24-19 first quarter showed the Patriots fighting qualities.

The Sharks went to their trademark defence to secure a 12-21 second quarter and a 36-40 half time lead. A Kipper Nichols triple followed by a Jordan Ratinho drive into the paint saw the Sharks reclaim the lead at 26-27 on a 2-10 run and the lead became four at 28-32 on Sa’eed Nelson’s successful and-one play. The half concluded on a succession of trips to the line – the Sharks maintaining that four point advantage at 36-40 by the interval.

The Sharks continued to press home that advantage in the second half. Plymouth talisman’s Antonio Williams and Markedric Bell both picked up their fourth fouls early in the third period and with them firmly ensconced on the bench, a breathtaking one handed alleyoop from Marcus Delpeche on Channel Banks assist saw the score go out to 40-47. Another Nelson and-one and a Nichols bucket ended a solid quarter at 51-59.

The final stanza saw the Sharks torch a beleaguered Patriots to the tune of 18-29. Bennett Koch’s opening putback took the lead out to 10 at 51-61 and Rodney Glasgow’s three from the top of the key made that 14 at 55-69. The growing foul count finally hit Plymouth when vet forward Rashad Hassan fouled out midway through the quarter. Further treys from Glasgow and Ratinho only served to turn the screw and when Javion Ogunyemi made the additional point at 63-82, the Sharks chose to give court time to Hensy Sako and Nate Montgomery. Delpeche made another alleyoop, this time on Glasgow’s assist and concluded the Sharks scoring for the afternoon as a very polished display ended in a 69-88 success.

MVP

The Sharks out-rebounded Plymouth by 32-42 and in turn, six players produced double figure scores. Kipper Nichols (10 points, 5 rebounds) and Rodney Glasgow (10 points, 5 assists) started the ball rolling and an 11 point, 6 rebound outing for Javion Ogunyemi, including 4 offensive rebounds, showed the Sharks determination to get the job done. Bennett Koch was successful on 6 of his 8 shots on his way to 13 points and 5 boards and a 15 point, 6 assist effort from Sa’eed Nelson would have been a contender on any other night. However, a season high 15 points and 10 rebounds on 62% shooting including 5 from 7 on the line saw the honours go the way of Marcus Delpeche. The forward put up an energetic display for the highest efficiency rating of the game as another super team performance took the Sharks to a 5-5 record and 5^th place in the BBL Championship table.

Next game

Leicester Riders v B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, Friday November 18^th 2022, Morningside Arena, 7.45pm Tip Off.

Image

Carol J Moir