Sharks return to take physical Roses encounter

Saturday 4th November 2023

British Basketball League Regular Season

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 92 Manchester Giants 73

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks returned from a short break to take victory in a physical encounter with Manchester Giants by 92-73. A breakthrough performance from Parker Stewart, who led the Sharks with 19 points, was key to the win over their Lancastrian rivals. The Sharks’ record moves in a positive direction to 6-5 as a result with their Red Rose rivals dropping to 2-8.

Starting Fives

Sharks: Ramsey, Pipkins, Ratinho, Nichols, Koch.

Giants: Harris, Stampley, Anderson, Bourcier, Lawton.

Key Moments

The first half of the opening quarter saw the cross-county rivals trading baskets. Jalen Harris’ corner three gave the Giants a 14-16 lead but the Sharks’ Parker Stewart kickstarted an 11-0 run. His drive to the basket was followed by a coast to coast effort and concluded by another corner triple as the hosts went 25-16 up. Manchester’s Darius McNeill ended the period with an and-one play as the Giants showed some resilience.

That resilience continued into the second quarter. Great Britain’s Jamell Anderson put Manchester ahead by 25-27 from the line prior to centre Legend Robertin receiving an unsportsmanlike foul. A repeat a minute and a half later saw Robertin leave the game in angry fashion as the Sharks took advantage to go up by 43-36 on RJ Eytle-Rock’s effort off the glass. Again the encounter remained in the balance as a pair of Harris free throws saw the Giants still in touching distance at 44-38 by half time.

The Sharks blew away any suggestion of rustiness with a 27-16 third stanza. A three point shootout to the middle of the period then became notable for a series of astonishing finishes. Quality dunks from Kipper Nichols and Bennett Koch were followed by an outlandish one handed effort from Jalon Pipkins as the Sharks lead extended to 64-46. The eighteen difference became nineteen from the line courtesy of Pipkins once again but a Nick Stampley basket saw the quarter end at 71-54.

The Sharks had done enough to stave off any Manchester threat by this point. The Giants’ Darius McNeill ran in 12 points but more than met his match in Stewart, who having scored off the dribble in the opening stages, began to unfurl a fine display of three point shooting on his way to 11 in the period. Jordan Ratinho’s corner trey was followed by Nick Lewis for Manchester on the buzzer but it was to be the Sharks night as they took a 92-73 win over their traditional rivals.

MVP

Five Sharks in double figure scoring plus a couple just shy highlighted another good evening across the floor. Jalon Pipkins’ 13 point outing included that highlight dunk that deserved to be watched again and again, closely followed by Kipper Nichols with 13 and co-captain Bennett Koch, who added 14. Nichols’ and Koch’s dunks were outstanding plays in their own right and mention should also be made of Devearl Ramsey’s near triple-double evening where he finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds and 9 assists. The MVP undoubtedly had the best performance of his rookie professional season. Parker Stewart drove to the hoop to get matters underway and finished with some superlative three point shooting to end with a more than creditable 19 points, 5 rebounds and an assist at the heart of the Sharks scoring effort.

Next game

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Surrey Scorchers, Thursday November 9th 2023, Canon Medical Arena, 7.45pm Tip Off.

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Adam Bates