REPORT: Second defeat of the weekend for Sharks

Sunday 18^th December 2022

BBL Championship

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 64 Plymouth City Patriots 71

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks went down to a second defeat of the weekend, this time by seven points at the hands of the Plymouth City Patriots. Rather like Friday’s encounter with Manchester, the game was tied moving into the final quarter. Unfortunately, the Sharks shooting touch deserted them as they drop to a 7-9 record ahead of their final game before Christmas – a road trip to Caledonia Gladiators on December 23^rd.

Starting Fives

Sharks: Nichols, Banks, Ratinho, Glasgow, Koch.

Patriots: Brandon, Bell, Williams, Dusha, Hassan.

Key Moments

Friday’s slow start was banished as the Sharks came out with much greater purpose. Rodney Glasgow led the home side to a 6-2 lead and a Kipper Nichols three extended that to 13-5 and saw Plymouth into a timeout. The Patriots fought back with a 10-0 run, bookended by a triple from Markedric Bell as they took a 13-15 lead. Nichols broke the run but Plymouth finished strongly on the buzzer through Antonio Williams with the score at 15-18.

The Sharks replied strongly with a 24-13 second quarter. Kipper Nichols and Bennett Koch were successful from the mid-range as the Sheffield advantage was restored at 22-20 and it was Koch who ended a 10-2 streak with the Sharks up by 28-22. The runs continued as Patrick Lanipekun, James Hawthorne Jr and Antonio Williams made it a one point game at 32-31. The last seven points of the half were Sheffield’s. Marcus Delpeche muscled his way to the hoop and drew the foul as twenty minutes of basketball closed with the score at 39-31.

The Sharks advantage reached its highest point early in the third period when Jordan Ratinho’s trey late in the clock made the difference eleven at 44-33. The Patriots refused to go away and another 10-0 run, which included threes from Bell and Williams, saw the game remain very evenly matched. Bell hit his fourth triple of the encounter at 51-53 and it took a Kipper Nichols jumper to see the game level at 53-53 moving into the fourth quarter.

The Sharks shooting form dried up in the final stanza as it took them nearly four and a half minutes to get back on the board. By that time, Rashad Hassan’s putback had given Plymouth their biggest lead at 53-58 and that was maintained by Elvisi Dusha, who contributed his first point of the afternoon at 57-62. The game was still in the balance with a minute and a half to go. Rodney Glasgow made it 62-64 from the line but with the clock down to 26.2 seconds and no further scores, the Sharks were forced to foul. Dusha gave Plymouth a 64-69 advantage from the line and as Channel Banks’ three point attempt missed the target, it was left to the Patriots’ Antonio Williams to close out a 64-71 win for the Devonians.

MVP

Two Sharks clearly stood out on an afternoon when the home side struggled with their shot. Bennett Koch claimed 15 points with 6 rebounds, an assist and a steal as well as shooting 66% from the field and going a perfect 7 of 7 from the line. His performance was only surpassed by Kipper Nichols. The Illinois graduate poured in 25 points with 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 steals and a block but was unable to carry his team on his back to victory.

Post Game Interview

Sharks Assistant Coach Marko Backovic discussed the positives and negatives of a scrappy game after the final buzzer.

Next game

Caledonia Gladiators v B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, Friday December 23^rd 2022, Emirates Arena, 7.30pm Tip Off.

Image

Adam Bates