REPORT: Sharks overcome belligerent Surrey for useful win

Friday 25^th February 2022

BBL Championship

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 77 Surrey Scorchers 66

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks overcame a belligerent Surrey Scorchers to take a useful win in front of the Sky Sports cameras. The BBL’s bottom side fought for three quarters before a 24-14 final stanza, inspired by Rodney Glasgow Jr and Antwain Johnson, took the Sharks to victory and cemented their third place in the Championship table.

Starting Fives

Sharks: Nichols, Ratinho, Glasgow Jr, Delpeche, Wallace.

Scorchers: Davis Jr, Thomas, Hamrick, Ogedengbe, Ringer.

Key Moments

New Surrey recruit Desmond Ringer opened the scoring and continued to inspire his side, particularly on the defensive end with 11 rebounds on the night. The Scorchers went out to a 2-7 lead on Devin Thomas’ three pointer but an 8-0 run from the Sharks, concluded by Rodney Glasgow’s triple from the top of the key instigated the home side’s first lead of the game. Thomas was successful from downtown later in the period but Bennett Koch sealed an even opening ten minutes with the score at 16-16.

Joe Mvuezolo brought his usual energy off the bench to put the Sharks ahead by 22-19 at the start of the second quarter but six changes of lead highlighted the nip and tuck nature of the half. A Devante Wallace trey levelled matters at 27-27 and a Rodney Glasgow bucket put the Sharks ahead by 34-32 inside the final 6 seconds. Out of the timeout, Surrey’s Stanley Davis Jr hit a three on the buzzer that saw the visitors into the locker room ahead by one at 34-35.

The tempo lifted after half time but the Sharks were still unable to claim a decisive lead. Ringer gave Surrey their biggest lead at 34-41 but seven Marcus Delpeche points and a Jordan Ratinho triple filled a 10-0 run and restored the Sheffield advantage. Two more Devin Thomas’ threes showed Surrey’s determination to hang in there and an arc-ing effort from Davis Jr left the final quarter evenly poised with the score at 53-52.

A 14-0 run from a minute into the final stanza ultimately saw the win come the Sharks way. Antwain Johnson forced the Scorchers into a timeout at 62-54 but it produced little reaction as Glasgow came up with a three in transition and then assisted to Johnson on the alley-oop as the score became 69-54. Surrey relied on the big shot to try and narrow the deficit through Davis Jr and Thomas but a fallback three from Johnson all but sealed the Sharks win at 74-62. The Scorchers were late in trying to stop the clock and a pair of Kipper Nichols free throws closed out a hard-fought but useful 77-66 victory.

MVP

The Sharks offence clicked in a 24-14 final quarter and was largely inspired by backcourt duo Rodney Glasgow Jr and Antwain Johnson. Some tough Surrey defence made scoring a difficult task but Johnson broke free of the shackles in that final period to put up 10 points on his way to a vital 19 on the night. The heartbeat of the Sharks and MVP was Glasgow Jr however. He found the hoop right from the beginning in a scintillating all-round performance to record a statline-filling 19 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals on 70% shooting.

Post Game Interview

Coach Atiba Lyons praised the efforts of his side late in the game to secure a useful victory.

Next Game

Glasgow Rocks v B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, Sunday February 27^th 2022, Emirates Arena, 5pm Tip Off.

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Adam Bates