Watch: Prentiss Nixon and Mervin James keep Sheffield Sharks alive in TBT in America
Sheffield Sharks produced a barnstorming comeback to keep their American adventure alive on Saturday night.
Sharks found themselves 17-3 down in the opening quarter of their first knockout game on their maiden visit to America, with Da Guys of St Louis showing all their experience of The Basketball Tournament in the pair’s first-round encounter in Kansas City.
But Atiba Lyons side, who did not have Donovan Clay or Rickey McGill available despite their names being part of the roster for the tournament in America, hung around to launch an improbable fightback.
On the back of 12 points from Prentiss Nixon and 10 from former Leicester Riders and Manchester player William Lee, Sharks had pulled to within six points at 37-31 at the half.
They were within four going into the final quarter (nine minutes for the TBT, not the 10 played in British basketball) and took charge thereafter.
Another quirk of the rules in the TBT is there is a target score that once a team gets to it, that is the win. It was set at 70 in this game with Nixon launching two long-range threes to set up the victory which was sealed by a two-pointer from Mervin James, who played on the Surrey 89ers last term. Nixon was named MVP with 24 points.
Sheffield’s reward is progression to the regionalised second round of the 64-team tournament on Monday, where they meet the No 1 seeds in the Kansas bracket, Heartfire, who are a non-profit team from Arizona consisting of three players with NBA experience - although limited - who won the TBT in 2023.
Tip-off on Monday is at midnight UK time.