Royals escape Sharks salvage mission

Friday 19th April 2019

BBL Championship

DBL Sharks Sheffield 88-93 London City Royals (16-25, 23-50, 58-65, 79-79)

After overtime

London City Royals climbed above DBL Sharks Sheffield in the BBL Championship standings after surviving a thriller on the road.

The Royals improve to 16-15 on the verge of a spot in the benecos BBL Play-Offs in their debut season, while the Sharks drop to 16-16 with just one game left on their schedule.

Leading scorers – Chris Alexander 38, Mackey McKnight 18, Dirk Williams 15 (Sharks) – Ashley Hamilton 19, Ed Lucas 18, Wes Washpun 14 (Royals)

CHRIS. ALEXANDER.

…AGAIN. ?#BritishBasketball | #FearTheFin pic.twitter.com/PEwY21BbQy

— DBL Sharks Sheffield (@SheffieldSharks) April 19, 2019

Turning point – The visitors came out firing and went into the interval with a commanding 27-point lead. The third was almost the complete opposite as the Sharks rallied to close the gap before taking the lead at 69-67, though overtime would ensure. The Royals finished strong and a three from Washpun proved decisive.

Key stat –  It was a game of two halves and the two teams were far apart at the foul line, but the Royals finished 11 of 24 from 3-point range and hit big shots when it mattered.

Game hero(es) – Hamilton led the way for the Royals with 19 points off the bench with Lucas also key down the stretch with 18 points, while Washpun had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists. Alexander was huge for the Sharks, but his 38 points ended up in vain.

Next home game