Report by North Derbyshire Radio’s David Bell
The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks quest for the best runners-up slot in the SLB Trophy semi-finals came to an end as they fell 3 points short of their victory target. The Sharks looked to be cruising into the semis having led by as many as 30 at the start of the second half but a 19-28 final quarter in favour of the short-handed Caledonia Gladiators saw the Sharks claim a 90-79 win, a margin of only 11 points. Mervin James excelled for the Sharks with a 20 point, 10 rebound double-double but his efforts went unrewarded as the first chance at silverware slipped by. The Sharks return to action in 16 days time with a Championship fixture against fierce rivals Cheshire Phoenix.
The Sharks quest for progression started in earnest when Dirk Williams came off the screen to drain a three that took the score out to 9-7. Williams followed that up by going coast-to-coast for a monstrous slam and by the time Mervin James had completed his and-one play, the Sharks were looking comfortable at 22-11. A further open triple from Williams kept the momentum going and despite a late Toto Fagbenle bucket for Caledonia, the Sharks looked poised with the 29-16 opening quarter.
That lead doubled in the second period. William Lee’s alleyoop was followed by a Mike Ochereobia putback dunk as the gap raced out to 24 at 40-16. The Gladiators rallied. Jet Speelman’s three from the wing was followed by another deep triple from his captain Fraser Malcolm. The Sharks remained well in command however – Prentiss Nixon’s three in transition being followed by a regulation basket to close the half at 53-27, a lead of 26.
That advantage became 30 at the top of the third quarter. Mervin James’ putback made the score 57-27 but Caledonia finally found a consistent scoring touch. Kyle Jimenez trey was followed by three makes from the wing by Matthew Ragsdale with a quarterback pass from Rodney Chatman to William Lee being the Sharks only noticeable reply in between. The 30 lead was chopped down to 20 at 71-51 by the quarter end.
The Gladiators deep shooting continued at the start of the final stanza. Speelman and Malcolm were the aggressors once again as the gap became 14 at 75-61 – still enough for the Sharks to progress as results from elsewhere filtered through. Speelman fouled out of the game with 3.10 to play, putting further pressure on the Scots’ rotation of seven but the Sharks went into the penalty with two and a half minutes to go. A deep, contested three from Ragsdale shocked the Sharks and as Malcolm profited from trips to the free throw line, the required deficit slipped away. The Sharks saw victory through Dirk Williams at 90-79 but the eleven point difference wasn’t enough and it was Bristol who claimed the remaining semi-final slot.
A double figure scoring game came from Rodney Chatman, who added five assists to his growing portfolio this season. Jalen DeLoach was perfect from the field, making all six of his shots to finish with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Dirk Williams made some electric finishes for a fine return of 18 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists,1 steal and 2 blocked shots. An eye-catching double-double saw the MVP award go the way of Mervin James however. His 20 point, 10 rebound outing came with 3 assists, a steal and a blocked shot and he was a perfect six from six from the free throw line.
The Sharks now have a 16 day wait for their next fixture – a Championship clash with fierce rivals Cheshire Phoenix on December 30th.
Image: Adam Bates
