Better times for Sheffield on the court
BBL Championship – Friday 17th February 2012
One Health Sharks Sheffield 87 Guildford Heat 78
Sheffield Sharks put another controversial week behind them to gain a vital win over Guildford Heat and continue their push for a playoff position.
Changes resounded once again around the EIS with Coach Atiba Lyons wearing his Savile Row finest, the returning Ryan Patton taking the number 10 jersey and Mike Tuck stepping into the boots of the now-departed Justin Dobbins. It was Patton who looked like he had a point to prove in the initial stages, running the game from Point Guard and posting an impressive ten first quarter points. In his programme notes, Coach Lyons explained his desire to play a ‘small ball’ type of game for the remainder of the season and the backcourt duo of Patton and Langhurst excelled as the Sharks ended the period 27-13 to the good.
The Heat had played a physical style of ball in their previous visit to Sheffield and Coach Raftopoulos appeared to remind them of this in the second quarter. Imposing play by the burly Shaun Durant allowed Guildford talisman Drew Lasker time on the ball as an 11-0 run towards the end of the half reduced the deficit to four points; 41-37 at the interval.
The sides traded baskets throughout the third period. Tuck continued to impress in the ‘Dobbins’ role allied with Sheffield Hallam youngster Colin Sing, who used his size to good effect and thrived on the extra responsibility given to him by his Coach. Guildford’s imposing style of play was nullified by some sharp and decisive refereeing, which was pleasing to see given the criticism of officials over recent weeks. Lasker continued to gain plaudits for an exemplary shooting display as Guildford’s struggles of late seemed to continue. A 61-54 scoreline at the end of the third still left it anyone’s ball game going into the final ten minutes.
The second of Sheffield’s ‘small ball’ duo Jimmy Langhurst came to the fore in the final period. A 10-3 tear by the Sharks, engineered by Langhurst who finished with a game-high 26 points personal, pushed the score out to 71-59 in the homesters favour. Big guys Tuck and Sing hovered close to foul trouble which allowed Guildford to go on a 12-6 run, closing the scores to 77-71. McLemore received his fifth foul however and successful trips to the line from Langhurst and Tuck brought the Sharks home to a 87-78 success.
The resounding message coming out of the Sharks organisation is that this season hasn’t been written off, discipline and financial problems aside. The next opportunity to test Coach Lyons’ tactics comes next Friday when the MK Lions roll into Sheffield. Guildford clearly need to rediscover the fighting spirit that served them well post-Christmas in order to achieve a position in the end of season shake-up. There is much more to come from this thought-provoking BBL 2011-12 season.
