Sharks stage fightback but fall short in Surrey

Friday 2nd February 2024

British Basketball League Regular Season

Surrey Scorchers 82 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 75

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks reduced a final quarter deficit from 24 down to 7 points but were unable to return to regular season play with a victory. Three point shooting allowed hosts Surrey Scorchers to build up their significant lead but a 0-15 run in the final stanza gave the Sharks some serious momentum. Surrey held on for the 82-75 win with a series of trips to the line despite another double-double from recent Sheffield signing Malek Green. Surrey improve to 8-14 in the standings with the Sharks moving to 11-11 ahead of a two game week to follow.

Starting Fives

Scorchers: Mohamed, Jamison, Wang, Steel, Robinson.

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

Key Moments

Six successful three point shots allowed Surrey to build up a 15 point first quarter advantage. Former tow time league MVP Justin Robinson went back-to-back to make it 8-5 and a further effort from Josh Steel out of the corner turned that into 15-7. Quin Cooper took over for the Scorchers. Three triples including an exceedingly deep effort on the buzzer gave his side a 28-13 opening period lead.

The Sharks finally got on the statsheet through Rodney Glasgow at 29-18 and a banked effort from Prentiss Nixon reduced the gap to eight at 31-23. Surrey’s dead-eye night continued through Steel and Robinson once more at 41-31 and with an Andrew Lawrence and-one play, the hosts went in at 46-33 by half time.

A 23-14 third period looked to have all but sealed the win for the southern outfit. Big shots from Abdul Mohamed and Robinson, with his fourth trey, kept up their consistent scoring and with a double-double already in the bag, Saiquan Jamison three pointer took the lead to twenty at 61-41. A Josh Steel basket closed the quarter with the score at 69-47.

That lead became 24 at the start of the final period before the Sharks finally sparked into life. Seven Malek Green points brought some energy to proceedings, allied with Prentiss Nixon who added 8 in a 0-15 run as the gap closed to 73-67. A wide open Andrew Lawrence three broke the run but the Sharks held the difference at six with the score at 76-70 going into the final forty seconds. The Sharks resorted to fouls to stop the clock but successful visits to the stripe by Lawrence, Robinson and Cooper saw Surrey hold on for an 82-75 victory.

MVP

The Sharks co-captains were instrumental in trying to revive their side’s fortunes. Bennett Koch came close to a double-double with 10 points and 7 rebounds and fellow skipper Rodney Glasgow hit some key shots for his 12 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Inspiring that 13-28 final quarter was Prentiss Nixon. He made his shots at 66% to conclude with 17 points, 1 rebound and 4 assists. In his third game, it was another MVP display for Malek Green. He took a little while to get going but was hugely effective when he did. A second consecutive double-double saw him end with 19 points and 11 rebounds but he was unable to get the win over the line on this occasion.

Next game

London Lions v B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, Thursday February 8th 2024, Copperbox Arena, 7.45pm Tip Off.

Image

Adam Bates