Sharks return to Championship action in Friday night road trip

Super League Basketball Championship

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks return to Championship action following last weekend's thrilling Cup quarter-final win over Cheshire. A challenging visit to Surrey 89ers awaits with winning margins of just 5 and 8 points respectively in the last two encounters between the sides. Indeed, Surrey had Cup success of their own with victory over league leaders London Lions last Sunday so the scale of the task is not to be underestimated. The Sharks will hope for performances of a similar magnitude from Prentiss Nixon and Jacob Groves that earned them Team of the Week places this week. Tune in live and for free on DAZN to see how it pans out!

Friday – 89ers v Sharks – Surrey Sports Park – 7.30pm

Watch - https://www.dazn.com/en-GB/fixture/ContentId:ciy6l0pixa73d0cfyat7okwlw/ciy6l0pixa73d0cfyat7okwlw

Ones To Watch

Jalen Ray – His effortless three point shot took him to a team-high 21 points against London last Sunday. 5 successes from beyond the arc out of 8 attempts were a key factor in seeing the 89ers progress to a well-deserved semi-final berth in the Cup.

Mervin James – If Surrey need a bucket, they go to James. He was just a single point behind Ray last weekend in London as well as pulling down 6 boards, making 2 assists, 2 steals and a block in the 86-95 victory. Averages 21 points on the season so far.

Dame Adelekun – The languid forward is always highly-effective and put up a 13 point, 13 rebound double-double to despatch the Lions at the quarter-final stage last week. Unerringly-accurate around the rim, he also made 2 steals and 3 blocked shots as Surrey’s stock continues to rise.

Tayo Ogedengbe – Surrey’s veteran skipper rolled back the years to see his side make progress last week. A twenty minute spell saw him make 13 points including 3 of 4 from deep as the 89ers pulled off one of the shocks of the round.

Last Meeting

December 29th 2024 – B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 82 Surrey 89ers 77

Shark Bites

Prentiss Nixon has now scored at least 30 points twice this season, the first Sharks player to hit 30 multiple times in the same campaign since Chris Alexander (twice) and Dirk Williams (5 times) in the 2018-19 season.

There have now been 19 scores of 20 points or more by Sharks players in the 22 games played this season. Last season saw just 16 scores of 20 or more, whilst in the previous season (2022-23) the total was 18.

The Sharks have now hit 12 or more 3s eight times in their 22 games played this season. Those 8 are made up of 3 times against both Cheshire and Manchester and once against both Leicester and Surrey. Making 12 three pointers eight times this season is the joint most in the previous 19 completed seasons.

The game on Friday between Surrey and the Sharks will take place on the 15th anniversary of the Sharks winning their first piece of silverware under Coach Atiba Lyons. On 17th January 2010, the Sharks beat Cheshire 89-86 in the BBL Cup Final at the NIA in Birmingham.

SharkNation

Got your breath back from that Cup thriller last week yet? The SharkNation were magnificent in bringing the noise last Sunday and we know for a fact that the guys fed off your energy! We’ve got a quick rematch with Cheshire on Friday 24th January (7.30pm tip off) and we’d love you to join us for a repeat. To secure your seats go to:

https://app.fanbaseclub.com/Fan/Fixtures?fanStoreType=Fixtures&clubId=216

and be prepared to be LOUD! If you can’t make it to Surrey this Friday evening, don’t forget to tune in to DAZN (link at the top of the page) and keep sending us the love on social media because we appreciate all your messages and interactions. Home or away, it’s time to #FearTheFin!

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Adam Bates