Stunning shooting display gives Sharks big first leg advantage

Friday 7th February 2025

Super League Basketball Cup Semi Final 1st Leg

Bristol Flyers 64 B. Braun Sheffield Sharks 88

A stunning first half shooting display from Prentiss Nixon gave the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks a significant advantage going into the second leg of their Super League Basketball Cup semi final against Bristol Flyers on Sunday. Eight 3 point shots soared through the net as the Illinois native ran in 29 by half time, bettering his previous best of 28 against Cheshire. The Sharks slowed the tempo in the second half but still extended their lead to 24 by the end of the contest with the 64-88 victory. There were further big performances from Rickey McGill (15), Drake Jeffries (16) and the now-regulation Donovan Clay double-double (14/11) as the Sharks look to finish the job on Sunday afternoon and book their place at the showpiece final in Nottingham on March 9th.

Starting Fives

Flyers: Johnson, Louis, Robinson, Lewis, Walshe.

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

Key Moments

Hosts Bristol took a 5-2 lead on Kendall Lewis’ corner three but Prentiss Nixon’s leveller was the start of a remarkable display of pure shooting. His second trey midway through the quarter sent the Sharks into a 10-11 advantage and he maintained the one point gap with his third at 15-16. An inside lay-up saw Nixon take a different route but Bristol clawed four points back as Coach Lyons collected a technical and Johnson (x1) and Walshe (x3) went perfect from the line. Rodney Glasgow turned on the afterburners to ensure the Sharks took a 21-24 first quarter lead.

The Sharks ramped up the intensity in a 17-31 second period. Corey Samuels scored from the wing to make it 26-28 but again the mid-point of the quarter signalled the Sharks going to another level. Drake Jeffries’ corner three split a pair of Nixon makes as the former Iowa State man started to run amok. Two contested triples were followed by three successful shots from the line and a further trey as Nixon added 15 on the bounce on his own to make it 37-53. A Jeffries putback concluded a breath-taking half with the score at 38-55.

Nixon dialled down the heat in the second half as the tempo eased somewhat but his colleagues ensured the Sharks took as big a win as possible. Seven points from Donovan Clay including a successful and-one play opened up a twenty point gap at 44-64. Rickey McGill and Rodney Glasgow Jr continued to push the difference but a Keddy Johnson three inside the final minute ended the third period at 51-72.

Drake Jeffries shone in the final stanza as the Sharks pushed on to a 24 point first leg win. His trey kept the gap at 20 with the score at 55-75 and another big shot from deep made it 60-80 going into the final two minutes. His fourth successful shot from beyond the arc saw him make 11 of the Sharks’ 16 points in the quarter and despite an Owen McCormack free throw with 12 seconds to go, the Sharks could count themselves very satisfied with a 64-88 first leg advantage.

MVP

The ever-inventive Rickey McGill was one of four Sharks who stood out in a very pleasing encounter. His 15 point, 4 rebound, 4 assist, 5 steal display came on a night where the Sharks picked 14 pockets overall and dominated the boards to the tune of 32-45. Leading the rebounding effort was Donovan Clay. His now-standard double-double saw him finish with 14 points and 11 boards but two other Sharks led the scoring regime. Drake Jeffries finished with 16 points to go with 7 rebounds, 1 assist and 3 steals, making 4 impressive three point shots. The three ball was a key feature of the MVP’s game on the night. Prentiss Nixon went 8 of 10 in a scintillating first half that took him to 29 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists and gave the Sharks one foot in the showpiece final in March.

Next Game

B. Braun Sheffield Sharks v Bristol Flyers, Sunday 9th February 2025, Canon Medical Arena, Super League Basketball Cup Semi Final 2nd Leg, 4.00pm tip off

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Will Cooper