Sheffield Sharks have SLB Trophy progress in their hands, only to blow it late on against Caledonia Gladiators
Needing to beat Caledonia Gladiators by 14 points to book a spot in the SLB Trophy semi-finals, a Sheffield Sharks side that led by 30 at one stage somehow contrived to win by only 11 and crash out of the tournament.
Victory over an under-strength Gladiators for a Sharks team bolstered by the return of Prentiss Nixon and Mervin James was achieved early, too early as it happened, for the Sharks took their foot off the gas as the Gladiators started finding their shooting.
As the lead fluctuated between 11 and 19 points, it made for an enthralling last 10 minutes, but a nerve-jangling one for Sharks.
With a minute remaining, Sheffield had the winning margin but a three-pointer from Matthew Ragsdale proved a killer.
Despite the 90-79 win, it made for a very flat atmosphere at the end as the Sharks chances of continuing their fight for the first piece of silverware of the season came to an end with Friday night’s defeat at Newcastle Eagles in their first group game ultimately proving decisive.
How Sharks threw away such a big lead will be cause for concern going forward, but at least when they were on top – from the start all the way to midway through the third quarter – they looked strong.
Their roster looks deeper than it has been all season, with Nixon and James coming in to add scoring power all the way from the starting five down to the 10th player.
"Caledonia are a team that do some things well but the biggest thing is they make shots,” offered Nixon. "And down the stretch they made shots. We got a little stagnant and that’s just how the game goes sometimes.”
Nixon had seven points, James led the way with 20 and 10 rebounds for a double-double, while Dirk Williams contributed 18.
Rodney Chatman III had 10 and big man Jalen DeLoach scored 14.
With an array of talent at his disposal, head coach Atiba Lyons must now work out how best to give every one minutes and opportunities while not disrupting the rhythm of his team.
Sheffield Hatters suffered a 103-102 defeat to Essex Rebels in the women’s SLB while Yorkshire Dragons lost 97-85 to the unbeaten Reading Rockets in the BCB.