REPORT: Short handed Sharks take Plymouth oh so close

Wednesday 7^th December 2022

BBL Championship

Plymouth City Patriots 68 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 63

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks almost did it the hard way down in Devon but just came up short against the Plymouth City Patriots. The Sharks were short handed once again with the ongoing absence of Sa’eed Nelson and illness victim Bennett Koch and despite another huge defensive effort, the seven man rotation couldn’t quite get the win over the line. The five point loss sees the Sharks into a nine day break before they return on 16^th December with a home game against Manchester Giants.

Starting Fives

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

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

Key Moments

After the game began in unusual fashion with Plymouth’s Markedric Bell tipping into his own basket, it was the home side that rallied through in-form Elvisi Dusha with a corner three and a turnaround jump shot to lead by 9-6. The Sharks fought back strongly – seven Javion Ogunyemi points turned the tables and when Nate Montgomery hit three in transition, the visitors looked good at 11-17. The last three points of the quarter were Plymouth’s but it was a positive start for the Yorkshire outfit.

The Patriots took a four point lead on a big Dusha trey at 21-17 but a highlight in a low-scoring half was the one handed alleyoop finish by Marcus Delpeche on Channel Banks assist with the score levelled once more at 23-23. Dusha and the Sharks Jordan Ratinho traded threes late in the half but an Antonio Williams triple inside the final twenty seconds gave Plymouth a 31-26 half time lead.

Williams and Isa Brandon extended the Patriots lead to ten from beyond the arc at 39-29. By the time Rashad Hassan had extended that to twelve, Plymouth had been on a 12-3 run at the top of the quarter. The Sharks refused to go away however. A reverse lay up from Channel Banks followed by a three pointer clawed the deficit back to two at 50-48 and it took a James Hawthorne corner triple to see the home side with a slender advantage at 55-48 after three periods.

The final stanza was no less tight. Channel Banks and Kipper Nichols reduced an eight point gap down to two at 61-59 with three minutes to play before Bell’s triple gave Plymouth a slight advantage at 65-61 inside the final minute and a half. With the clock winding down into the final 20 seconds, the Sharks were forced to use their remaining 2 fouls as Dusha put the Patriots up by 66-63 from the line. Out of the timeout, the Sharks were twice stymied at the rim and with no option but to foul once again, Bell closed out a 68-63 victory for Plymouth from the charity stripe.

MVP

The seven men on display for the Sharks went to superhuman lengths to try and obtain a result. Channel Banks once again hit key shots on his way to 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal and there was a 1000^th BBL point for Kipper Nichols during the encounter. Javion Ogunyemi displayed great presence coming from the bench for 14 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks but there was little to choose between joint MVP’s on the night. There was a season-high in rebounding for Jordan Ratinho, who played the whole 40 minutes for 9 points, 11 boards, 5 assists and a steal. Capping consecutive fine performances was Marcus Delpeche. His 13 points, 6 rebounds, 1 assist and a block came on 75% shooting but sadly his and Ratinho’s efforts were not enough to bring the Sharks an eighth win in ten games.

Next game

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Manchester Giants, Friday December 16^th 2022, Ponds Forge, 7.30pm Tip Off.

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Adam Bates