Skill McGill! Rickey leads the Sharks to eighth win on the bounce

Sunday 16th February 2025

Super League Basketball Championship

Cheshire Phoenix 65 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 87

The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks kept up their hunt at the top of the Super League Basketball Championship with an eighth win on the bounce, on the road at Cheshire Phoenix. The Sharks were down by as many as 17 points early in the third quarter but came up with a 20-53 second half spell that included a 6-27 final stanza to cap another breathtaking win. A Sharks career-best of 29 points from Rickey McGill, backed up by 20 from Donovan Clay and 19 from Prentiss Nixon was key to the come-from-behind victory. The Sharks are deadlocked with London Lions at the top of the standings going into the FIBA international break following their win in the North West.

Starting Fives

Phoenix: Scott-Grayson, Holden, Atwood, Timberlake, White.

Sharks: McGill, Nixon, Clay, Ratinho, Anderson.

Key Moments

Cheshire took the lead with a couple of big plays at the end of the first quarter. The Sharks called for an early timeout on Skyler White’s jump shot at 10-6 and began a series of trades with their hosts. The Sharks allowed Cam Holden time at the three but levelled the game in kind through Rickey McGill and then again through a Rodney Glasgow Jr floater at 19-19. A Greg Wild three followed by a Skyler White half-court shot on the buzzer put the ‘Nix ahead by 25-19 going into the second period.

The Phoenix known three point threat materialised soon after with Tyreek Scott-Grayson and TJ Atwood finding success to make the score 33-25. Donovan Clay’s drives into the paint paid constant dividends and with the ever-inventive McGill chipping in, the Sharks weren’t too far adrift at 35-31. Cheshire pulled away into the half time interval. Free throws from Holden and White preceded an and-one play by Scott-Grayson as the hosts took charge by 45-34 at the break.

Another 6 points unanswered saw the Sharks looking down the barrel of a 17 point deficit on Atwood’s trey at 51-34. The reply was instantaneous. Two big triples from McGill were followed by another from Prentiss Nixon with trips to the line ending a 0-12 burst and the score at 51-46. The Sharks guards continued their fine work to close the gap to just a single point and with Clay drawing fouls in the paint, they finally took the lead on the big forward’s bucket at 58-60. Wild claimed a free throw to close the quarter but the momentum was most definitely Sheffield’s at 59-60.

A mind-blowing final stanza played out. The Sharks went 0-23 in 8.53 to claim what eventually was an emphatic victory. Nixon, Glasgow Jr (x2) and McGill all hit the target from deep with Nixon going 4 of 4 from the line as Cheshire coach Ben Thomas picked up a technical foul two-thirds of the way through the quarter. Atwood broke the remarkable run but Reyad West’s mid-range effort signalled his first points in the Championship and put the stamp on an equally-remarkable win. A Tyreek Scott-Grayson putback closed the scoring for the evening with the Sharks victorious at 65-87.

MVP

A statline of 6 points, 5 rebounds and 1 assist might not have stood out greatly but the defensive masterclass from Jamell Anderson saw the Sharks positive 22 while ever he was on court. Three other performances caught the eye. Prentiss Nixon was coolness personified from the line, going 7 of 8 on his way to a more-than-useful 19 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist. Donovan Clay helped the Sharks claim the battle of the paint by 18-34. His fearsome drives to the hoop saw the powerful forward end with 20 points, 8 boards, an assist and 2 steals. It was a superlative display from Rickey McGill that took the MVP plaudits however. He hit 5 of 8 from 3 point country and 8 of 10 from the charity stripe for a superb 29 point, 5 rebound, 4 assist, 1 steal statline that kept the Sharks in the forefront of things at the top of the SLB Championship standings.

Next Game

Bristol Flyers v B. Braun Sheffield Sharks, Saturday 1st March 2025, SGS College Arena, Super League Basketball Championship, 7.30pm tip off

Image

Adam Bates