REPORT: Sharks fall in yet another tense encounter

Friday 7^th October 2022

BBL Championship

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 70 Caledonia Gladiators 74

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks fell agonisingly short against a useful Caledonia Gladiators outfit, who had run the loaded London Lions side close in midweek. A 16-21 second quarter proved to be crucial as even third and fourth periods saw the Scots take a narrow 70-74 win. The Sharks now fall to 0-4 ahead of an important game away at Cheshire Phoenix on Sunday.

Starting Fives

Sharks: Ogunyemi, Nelson, Banks, Nichols, Ratinho.

Gladiators: Sloan, Malcolm, Fraser, Adams, Bailey.

Key Moments

The Sharks and particularly Kipper Nichols came out with purpose as the Ohio native put his side up by 6-4. Lucky leftie Jeremiah Bailey shot the three that put his side ahead by one but a Javion Ogunyemi bucket and a Nichols one hand finish after Ogunyemi had crashed the offensive boards saw Caledonia calling for time at 10-7. Ali Fraser kept the Gladiators in the hunt, tying matters at 15-15 but a Jordan Ratinho trey and Bennett Koch basket saw the Sharks back in front at 21-17. Fraser Malcolm’s three out of the corner concluded a tight first quarter with the score at 21-20.

The nip and tuck nature of the game continued into the second quarter when Kyle Jiminez’ triple levelled things once again at 25-25. An angry timeout from Coach Atiba Lyons had the desired effect as his side went up by 32-26 on Nichols’ alleyoop – Channel Banks dishing out the assist. The Sharks hard work unravelled in the last 90 seconds of the half. Caledonia skipper Johnny Bunyan hit a three from the corner and an ‘and one’ plus a further triple from Princeton Onwas saw the Scots up by four at the half with the scoreboard reading 37-41.

The Gladiators four point lead was to prove crucial as the second half saw the two teams deadlocked. The Sharks dug deep into their defensive reserves in a bid to stymy the Caledonia offence and a further six points from Kipper Nichols tied matters once again at 47-47. Onwas pushed the Gladiators lead to its greatest point at 49-56 but a Bennett Koch one handed jam capped a 17-17 quarter with the score at 54-58.

Sadly the final stanza was also tied, this time by 16-16. A technical foul on Bailey saw the Sharks take the lead from the line at 61-60 and when Jordan Ratinho hit the three that extended that to 68-64 with 2.47 to play, hopes were high that the home side would finally collect that first win. Caledonia guard David Sloan had other ideas, immediately reducing the deficit to one and putting the Gladiators in front by one at 70-71 going into the final 90 seconds. Sloan made another point from the line as Jordan Ratinho’s three point attempt out of the timeout rimmed out, forcing the Sharks to quickly foul. Darian Adams added two more from the stripe and with just 2.7 seconds left, the Sharks were unable to engineer a finish leaving Caledonia the victors by 70-74.

MVP

While the Sharks were able to shoot 50% from inside, their outside shooting stalled at 29%. There were double figure returns for Sa’eed Nelson (10 points, 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals) and Marcus Delpeche (11 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 5 steals) but the MVP on the night was a clear one. Kipper Nichols shot at 56% for his 21 points and dished out a couple of assists but was unable to carry his team to a much-needed first success.

Post Game Interview

Rodney Glasgow Jr reflected on an improved display and mused upon what the Sharks need to do to improve.

Next game

Cheshire Phoenix v B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, Sunday October 9^th 2022, Cheshire Oaks Arena, 5.30pm Tip Off.

Image

Adam Bates