Sharks dominate Lions at EIS
BBL Championship – Friday 16th December 2011
One Health Sharks Sheffield 85 Milton Keynes Lions 66
Christmas came early for fans of the Sheffield Sharks with a comprehensive 85-66 victory over Milton Keynes Lions at the English Institute for Sport.
Sharks were utterly dominant from tip-off to the final buzzer with backcourt duo Nate Reinking and Jimmy Langhurst signalling the early intentions. A fifteen point advantage at the end of the 1st quarter reflected the home court dominance and it was Lions coach Mike New who desperately needed to rally his troops. To a certain extent, this happened, as MK closed the gap to just seven points by half time, Stefan Gill getting his team into the ball game with 15 points personal on the night. However, it was the Sharks who went into the interval the happier leading by 44-37.
The second half panned out much the same as the first. With Langhurst pulling the strings the homesters poured in a further 21 points in the 3rd. The prolific Demarius Bolds was subdued by his own high-scoring standards with a mere 18 points thanks to some superb defensive work by Sharks centre Justin Dobbins. Dobbins provided the comedy moment of the night by ‘de-bagging’ Stefan Gill in his role as chief-entertainer for the Yorkshire side on his way to another impressive double-double of 18 points and 11 rebounds.
The final quarter saw the Sharks stretch the lead even further as MVP Langhurst compiled 6 triples to finish with a game high 28 points. Coach Atiba Lyons allowed valuable court time to Nathaniel Akins and Colin Sing and the latter responded with two maximums of his own, as the clock ticked away to an almost inevitable conclusion. The opportunity to rest key players Reinking and Dobbins proved invaluable given the road trip to Durham the following night and the final score of 85-66 reflected how much of a walk in the park this had been for Sheffield. MK were left to reflect on a below-par performance, Bolds appearing particularly frustrated by taking out his anger on the water bottles.
Pre-season find Jimmy Langhurst continued his good form the following night, leading the Sharks to a 71-90 win away at Durham Wildcats. Langhurst poured in a further 27 points to guide the Sharks to 5-4 and 5th place in the BBL table. It was an excellent way for the RMU grad from Willard, Ohio to head into the Christmas break ably supported by big centre Justin Dobbins, who returned figures of 22 points with 18 rebounds. The Sharks return to action on Friday 30th December with a visit to the Kelvin Hall to play Glasgow Rocks with the next home fixture at the EIS being on Friday 6th January when Cheshire Jets are the visitors.
