A year ago Rodney Glasgow was so sick of losing first-round play-off match-ups with Sheffield Sharks that he even let his emotions run free on social media.

Sharks had just gone ‘one and done’ in the play-offs for the second season running, Leicester Riders beating them over two legs just as Caledonia Gladiators (then the Rocks) had done to Sheffield in Glasgow’s first season with the club.

Twelve months on the Sharks captain was basking in the glow of a memorable come-from-behind play-off series victory over Leicester Riders at a rocking Canon Medical Arena that sends Sheffield into a semi-final match-up, again potentially over three games, with Cheshire Phoenix.

Having headed into the weekend trailing the Riders 1-0 in the series after losing a tight one on home court a week earlier, Sharks rebounded with a last-gasp three-point win in Leicester on Saturday night and then rode that momentum onto their home court to crush the Riders 86-69 in a game far more one-sided than the scoreline suggests.

Delight: Sheffield Sharks duo Prentiss Nixon, left, and Kipper Nichols celebrate a landmark play-off success over Leicester Riders (Picture: Adam Bates)

“I’m tired of first-round exits, I said that last year and even tweeted it,” beamed Glasgow in the immediate aftermath of a famous win for the team.

“But I’m proud of the guys, we knew this is the one that we wanted and that even on a back-to-back, our crowd behind us would give us energy that we needed.

“The guys are tired, but it’s the play-offs, it doesn’t matter. Everybody contributed, it wasn’t just one guy it was all 10 of us.

“You could tell from the jump that we were finally going to be off to a good start and that set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Series MVP Prentiss Nixon lifts the crowd as Sheffield began to dominate game three against Leicester (Picture: Adam Bates)

To put the victory into context, Sharks had lost four of their five previous encounters with Leicester this season and had not won back-to-back games over a weekend throughout the entirety of the campaign.

Given the high they were on in Leicester after Prentiss Nixon’s game-winning three pointer, Glasgow said it was a combination of factors that saw them back up that win the following day.

“We were running on play-off adrenalin, we’ve got a selfless group of guys, I’m telling them forget the game, we’ve got the win now, we’ve got to lock in for tomorrow,” recalled Glasgow.

“Let’s enjoy it for two hours, but we’re not done yet.

“I know what it takes to win in the British Basketball League, and winning is hard. Being in the play-offs is so hard, every team tries to take away your first and second option and adjustments are big. We adjusted well, we learned from game one, we didn’t hang our head down, we made the right plays. And that’s what it comes down to. It’s not about me, it’s about us. Guys are understanding that at the perfect time.”

None more so perhaps than Nixon, a mid-season acquisition who came to the party in a big way this weekend, scoring a game-high 17 points on Sunday and keeping the crowd going.

“This is what Prentiss does, his energy is what we need,” said Glasgow. “He’s been in the gym with me working hard so I’m glad to see his development and I’m also glad to see his hard work pay off.

“I told him, if you’ve got it going just keep the ball in your hands and I knew he was going to make it Saturday night because he practises that all the time and I knew the moment wasn’t too big for him.”

Sheffield travel to Cheshire for game one on Friday, then host game two of the semi-final on Sunday (4.35pm). Game three, if needed, is TBC.

'Everyone contributed, all 10 of us' - Sharks basking in glow of memorable play-off triumph over Leicester Riders