Report by North Derbyshire Radio’s David Bell
The first of two encounters in three days saw the B. Braun Sheffield Sharks fall to an 80-92 defeat at the hands of Leicester Riders. A fast start from the Riders saw the Sharks always playing catch-up and despite getting the deficit down to eight in the final quarter, victory was out of their reach. Fahro Alihodzic’s no-nonsense approach took him to Sharks MVP honours for his 16 points but with Flynn Boardman-Raffet (20) and Travis Evee (21) leading the way for Rob Paternostro’s side, the Sharks were left to focus on what they need to do to improve on Tuesday evening.
A fast Leicester Riders start set the tone for a win where the Sharks were always playing catch-up. Successive and-one plays for Flynn Boardman-Raffet, Victor Ndoukou and Keddy Johnson propelled the Riders in front by 5-12 and despite Nick Kern Jr narrowing the gap with a corner three at 10-14, a lay-up from Boardman-Raffet confirmed their dominance at 16-30 by the quarter end.
The Sharks started better in the second period. Troy D’Amico’s triple took Leicester into a timeout as the deficit closed at 25-32. Jordan Ratinho’s corner triple was followed by a simple basket on Prentiss Nixon’s assist to make it 34-38 but the Riders took command once again – Victor Ndoukou’s trey putting them ahead by 36-48. Prentiss Nixon found success from the line late in the half but the scoreline of 40-51 left the Sharks with an improved display needed after the break.
Sadly, that didn’t materialise. Boardman-Raffet opened the half with another three and it took a pair of Dirk Williams’ downhill drives to keep the Sharks in touch at 44-56. Williams helped close the gap to ten by assisting to Fahro Alihodzic for a slam at 48-58 but a Travis Evee trey reasserted the visitors lead at 53-69. Williams closed the quarter on another triple but the score of 59-71 looked a big one for the Sharks to overturn.
A pair of Nick Kern plays gave the Sharks some hope in the final stanza. His hook turned the deficit into an 11 point one at 71-82 and then a satisfying fake and assist from D’Amico allowed Kern to slam home at 76-84. That was about as good as it got from the Sharks as they were forced into fouling to stop the clock. Evee, Bledson and Ndoukou all found success from the line for the Riders to confirm their 80-92 victory.
Prentiss Nixon was the only Sharks player with a positive plus/minus as he ended with a considered 13 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal. Dirk Williams third quarter exploits saw him shoot 54% from the field for his 16 points, which also included 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. Nick Kern’s athleticism gave the Sharks late momentum as he ended with 15 points, 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot but again it was the no-frills approach of vet Fahro Alihodzic that earned MVP honours. His 16 points came on 8 of 13 shooting including one coast-to-coast dribble as well as 6 boards and 3 assists. Sadly, his cohesion wasn’t enough for the Sharks on this occasion.
The Sharks match-up against the Riders almost immediately with a journey down to the Midlands side on Tuesday evening.
Image: Adam Bates
