Shooting costs Sharks north of the border

Saturday 11th November 2023

British Basketball League Regular Season

Caledonia Gladiators 73 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 64

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks endured a tough evening north of the border, going down by 73-64 to Caledonia Gladiators. An off-shooting night saw the Sharks make 28% of their shots inside and give up 11 free throws as the Scots moved to 2-1 over their visitors for the season. The game as a whole was a relatively tight affair but a 23-13 third quarter gave Caledonia the impetus to claim the win. The Sharks now move to a 7-6 record in fifth place ahead of the Friday night visit of Leicester Riders.

Starting Fives

Gladiators: Dubose, Onwas, Whelan, Palyza, Alihodzic.

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

Key Moments

The contest began reasonably well for the Sharks. After Patrick Whelan opened the scoring for the Gladiators, the Sharks went on a 0-12 run – Kipper Nichols and Jalon Pipkins making threes in amongst some flowing offence. Clifton Moore Jr hauled Caledonia back into the game from the mid-range at 9-15 and it was his and-one play that brought the quarter to an end with the Sharks up at 12-17.

Moore continued his work at the top of the second. Two free throws, a dunk and a fade away gave the Scots the lead at 20-19 and the sides traded that lead throughout the middle stages of the period. Parker Stewart’s corner three was immediately countered by Lukas Palyza and it wasn’t until Ian DuBose’ four late points that Caledonia took a 36-33 advantage. A tough Bennett Koch bucket closed the half, one point being the difference between the two teams.

There was very little to separate the two until the mid-point of the third stanza either. Threes late in the clock from Jordan Ratinho and Devearl Ramsey kept the Sharks in touch at 44-41 but six Fahro Alihodzic points saw a slight gap open up at 50-43. The Gladiators ended the quarter strongly as well. Clifton Moore’s spin and lay in gave the hosts an eleven point lead with the score at 59-48.

The Sharks didn’t go away and did their upmost to claw back any deficit for the first half of the final period. Jubril Adekoya made back to back baskets to open and Stewart’s drive to the hoop pulled the Sharks to within six at 63-57 with a little over five minutes to play. Lack of success inside the arc and a series of missed free throws hurt the Sharks badly however. Palyza’s corner three at 71-60 all but confirmed a Caledonia win as Jordan Ratinho fouled out and the game ended on a Ramsey freebie with the score at 73-64.

MVP

Jalon Pipkins and Kipper Nichols kept up their consistent scoring performances. Pipkins ended with 12 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals and Nichols with 13 to go with 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block. Bennett Koch came in for some rough treatment but held firm on some robust plays for 8 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal but it was back-to-back MVP awards for Devearl Ramsey. He dished out 7 assists for the second game running to go with 11 points, 4 rebounds and a steal but was unable to see the Sharks to a second win of the week on this occasion.

Next game

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Leicester Riders, Friday November 17th 2023, Canon Medical Arena, 7.30pm Tip Off.

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Adam Bates