Sunday 28th September 2025
Super League Basketball Championship
B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 78 Newcastle Eagles 73
It was as physical as they come but the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks came out on the high side of a tough encounter with Newcastle Eagles. The result of the game remained in the balance right down to the final two and a half minutes but it was the cool and calm Rodney Chatman III who steered the Sharks to a five point victory with some clutch plays that also earned him the MVP award for the afternoon. The Sharks now go 2-1 for the nascent Super League Basketball season ahead of their next fixture which sees Caledonia Gladiators visit the Canon Medical Arena next Sunday.
Starting Fives
Sharks: Williams, Nixon, Chatman, Ratinho, DeLoach
Eagles: Taylor, Jack, Long, Reed, Anthony
Key Moments
Newcastle landed the first basket through Maceo Jack but it was the Sharks who took up where they left off in Leicester on Friday, going on a 10-0 run with Prentiss Nixon and Jordan Ratinho both making successful three point shots. The 12-5 scoreline soon became 16-7 on a Nixon drive into the paint but with the Sharks in foul trouble, the Eagles slowly crept back in. A tough hook shot saw Jack to an and-one play and when he followed up with two from the line, the margins tightened at 22-19. A Rodney Chatman floater with under one second to go closed the quarter at 24-19 however.
The second period was an altogether scrappier affair as Newcastle set about disrupting the Sharks game plan. They went on a 0-12 streak of their own as Marco Anthony, Ray’Sean Taylor and Maceo Jack turned the tables to put the Geordies ahead by 30-35. It took a Dirk Williams drive to an and-one of his own to close the stanza with the game very much in the balance at 33-35 by half time.
The third quarter started in much the same vein. Jordan Ratinho restored the Sharks lead at 41-40 with a long triple but that was reversed once more by the experienced Jack, whose quick release three made it 45-48. Both teams hit the penalty towards the end of the period as the foul count grew. Jack was successful from the line on three attempts following a Nick Kern technical foul but with Newcastle also in foul trouble, Prentiss Nixon, Rodney Chatman and Mike Ochereobia profited from the stripe to close the ten minutes with the score at 54-51.
After another period of basket-trading, the Sharks finally thought they had broken Newcastle’s resolve. Back to back triples from William Lee and Rodney Chatman were followed by a Lee alley-oop as a chink of daylight opened up at 71-65. Not so. The Eagles Ray’Sean Taylor and skipper Cole Long hit big shots to level once more. Cue Rodney Chatman. He calmly took the trey that put the Sharks ahead by 74-71and with Jalen DeLoach making it a two possession game from the line, there was no way back for Newcastle. Chatman finished the scoring as the Eagles’ Mitch Clarke left the game on five fouls with the scoreboard reading 78-73 in the Sharks favour.
MVP
Both sides shooting percentages were down in the thirties but it was possibly the four extra free throws that the Sharks made that steered them to a hard-fought win. Racking up double figure scores were Dirk Williams and Prentiss Nixon with 11 points apiece and Jalen DeLoach flirted with a double-double to finish with 10 points and 9 rebounds. After spending a good portion of last season out with injury, it was Rodney Chatman III who demonstrated that he is getting back to his old self with an MVP display. His 20 point, 5 rebound, 3 assist, 1 steal and 1 block outing came on 26 minutes of court time to steer the Sharks back to a positive win / lose ratio.
Next Game
B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Caledonia Gladiators, Sunday 5th October 2025, Canon Medical Arena, 4.00pm Tip Off
Image
Josh Rackham
