Injury update on two key Sheffield Sharks stars as Atiba Lyons praises role players in win over Manchester

Sharks beat Manchester 93-74 at the Canon Medical Arena, a scoreline that flattered the hosts who for three quarters couldn’t shake their obdurate opponents until playmakers Prentiss Nixon and Rickey McGill took over.

“Making shots is the name of the game and those guys have ice in their veins,” was how Lyons characterised the influence of his game-breakers, but the work of players like Jordan Ratinho, Jamell Anderson and Rodney Glasgow Jnr also pleased him.

Their impact was needed given Sharks only had eight players suited up with Jacob Groves sitting out a third game with a wrist injury and Drake Jeffries in a protective boot to heal an ankle problem.

“Those guys stepped up,” said Lyons as his team stayed competitive at 56-54 through three quarters before exploding for 37 points in the final 10 minutes.

“Opponents are focusing on Rickey and Prentiss and Donovan (Clay), so I asked those guys to step it up and they did that tonight. It was a great team effort, we had some struggles here and there with what they did defensively but we definitely figured it out in the second half.

“Seventy-four points is a good total for our defence, that’s a target for us and I’m very happy with that.”

Sharks, who moved back alongside London Lions at the top of the league with a 12-4 record, visit Cheshire Phoenix on Sunday before the two-week international break.

Not exactly limping into that hiatus, it will be welcomed with the SLB Cup final against Surrey 89ers on Sunday, March 9, looming on the horizon.

On the injuries, Lyons reported: “Jacob is day to day with a wrist issue, we’ll see how he goes.

“Drake has got to get another evaluation but it’s his ankle, so we’ll just have to see. I think he should be back by the final.”

EC Matthews was again supporting his team-mates on the bench but the final could come too quickly for him as he rehabilitates a hamstring injury.