BBL Championship: One Health Sharks Sheffield 78 Worcester Wolves 73

‘Stick t’path’ – Wise words for viewers of cult film ‘An American Werewolf in London’ and wise words for Sheffield basketball fans on a treacherous night of snow in the so-called UK spring!

But what a feast of basketball was served up with Sheffield Sharks racing through the first twenty minutes with fifty points on board, only to have the honours-chasing Worcester Wolves produce an equally outstanding comeback in the second twenty.

Starting Fives:

Sharks: Jemison, Tuck, Holmes, Babalola, Lewis.

Wolves: Masiulis, Ocitti, Williams, Owumi, Fernandez.

The game took no time at all to warm up. Giant Lithuanian, Masiulis made his presence felt and claimed points from the line but Nick Lewis emphasised Sheffield’s dominance with a three from the corner to make it 9-5. Sharks skipper Mike Tuck was next to take control, pouring in ten crucial points before the period was out. Worcester’s Kalil Irving hit three fouls before ten minutes was up and a three plus one play by Arnas Kazlauskas helped narrow the imposing gap the Sharks had built up by the close of the quarter at 31-17.

A veritable feast of entertaining basketball was served up by the Sharks in the second period. Good open looks for Lewis saw him register two triples, split by one from Andrew Bridge, as he garnered eleven points personal and steered his side into a 46-25 lead. Owumi gave an indication of what was to come from Worcester before Tuck and Sing, flicking the ball in following a BJ Holmes floater, saw the home side going in at 50-27 at the half, seemingly home and dried.

How wrong could that last statement be? Despite Demetrius Jemison pushing the score out to 52-27, a run of 23-7 in the Wolves favour saw the game hanging finely in the balance. A three from Sherrad Prezzie-Blue announced Worcester’s intentions and further big scores by Kai Williams and the highly-influential Alex Owumi pulled the difference to within eleven at 55-44. Kazlauskas, Masiulis and Fernandez narrowed the gap even further to 55-50 and it was only a trip to the line for BJ Holmes that saw the period close out at 59-50.

The final quarter saw Worcester scent a famous victory. A long two from Ocitti was followed by another Prezzie-Blue triple as the gap became just four. Such was the intensity of the contest that a double foul was called on Tuck and Ocitti as both sides became aware of the magnitude of the contest. Leads waxed and waned but a Kazlauskas triple made the contest as close as ever at 74-70 with 51 seconds to play. A mystifying travelling call on Holmes followed by a further foul call on Babalola placed the Sharks in danger and an Owumi three with 15.7 seconds left made the difference just a single point. Lewis displayed maturity beyond his years to sink two from the line with just 13 seconds remaining and Sharks Captain Tuck grabbed a vital rebound from a missed Kazlauskas three attempt after Williams had inbounded the ball off Lewis’ backside! Worcester gave away another foul that saw Tuck claim another two from the line and a monstrous block by the wily Olu Babalola saw the game run out into a famous 78-73 win for the Sharks.

Sharks BBL stalwart Olu Babalola spoke of his delight that the team had closed out the proverbial game of two halves: “I’m so proud of the guys that we closed it out. Owumi hit some big shots and it was a sign of maturity that we managed to get the win.”

Asked if he expected the Wolves astounding second half comeback, Babalola replied: “We knew that they could do it. They are a three point shooting team that is well coached by PJ. They shot one from eleven in the first half so we knew that they would be much better in the second.

“We maintained our composure and that’s what saw us through,” Babalola concluded.

Play of the Game:

A stellar twenty minutes of basketball was summed up by the play that ended the first half for the Sheffield Sharks. Barely eighteen seconds remained when Worcester, on a damage limitation mission, forced BJ Holmes into a mid-range floated effort that was flicked in by unassuming Scouser Colin Sing, reacting first where others simply stood and stared. The twenty three point lead looked unassailable but how wrong did that prove to be as Worcester poured in 46 points to the Sharks 28 in the second half and produced a basketball exhibition that left the hardy EIS crowd salivating.

Game MVP:

Well it’s Friday, so Mike Tuck must be in the frame! Twenty three points and ten rebounds reflected a blitzkrieg of a first half where the Sharks could do no wrong. When Tuck sat, it was no coincidence that Worcester rallied and in no way can one underestimate the value of the 30 year old Canadian to this fledgling Sharks roster. That the majority may return for a full season’s tilt at all the major honours, guided by the imposing native of Toronto would be every Sharks’ fans dearest wish.

Next Up:

Glasgow Rocks at One Health Sharks Sheffield, Tuesday 26th March, 7.30pm, EIS Sheffield – Blue Hall.

Manchester Giants at Worcester Wolves, Saturday 23rd March, 7.00pm, Worcester University.