Jets set up playoff tie with third placed Worcester

Cheshire Jets claimed sixth place in the BBL Championship with an emphatic 98-77 victory over Sheffield Sharks.

The game was to decide the final standings in the league, and in front of a sell out crowd, Cheshire really turned it on when it mattered most.

Initially the game got off to a very slow start, but eventually Mike Tuck got a basket on the board before points were traded. Bill Cole hit a jam at 8-7, however Sharks went on a quick 7-0 run, followed by an 8-0 run from the Jets and then another 7-0 from the visitors. A buzzer beater on the shot clock from Colin O’Reilly was accompanied by points from Adam Brown, however Tuck was on hand to deliver the final points of the quarter to go 20-23 in favour of Sheffield.

A 10-2 run from the South Yorkshire side early on in the second quarter, and you could be forgiven for thinking that Sheffield wanted to carry on the momentum from their great comeback against Plymouth. Despite Nate Reinking’s efforts to keep the lead (which at one point was a lead of 11), Cheshire were determined to eat into it. All in all, the final five minutes of the quarter produced a huge turnaround for the home side, thanks mostly to the wonderful shooting of Kai Williams, who had yet to sport a Jets’ mohawk. He finished the quarter with a crowd roaring three pointer, and in one fell swoop, it was game back on at 48-46. Cheshire scored 21 points to the Sharks’ nine in the last five minutes before halftime.

Admittedly, this is where there is a gap in my report – I was part way through an interview for the upcoming UK American Sports Fan BBL Podcast with Lady of the Manor of Frodsham Jude Cisse (who was in attendance with her husband, a Mr Djibril Cisse of Premier League side QPR) at the start of the third quarter, however there was not a lot to shout about. I’d like to think I’m a decent enough journalist to not copy and paste off a statcast…so there were 11 points apiece in the time I missed, 59-57. Then the game caught fire.

Cheshire continued to go on a 14 point scoring run, which signalled the beginning of the end for Sheffield. Reinking hit two points in a miserable quarter for Sheffield, but Brown and Cole punished further to end the quarter 74-59.

The final quarter, and the Jets’ fans were in full flow, as were the players on court. Everything the Jets seemed to touch early in the stanza found its way into the basket. If there was ever a night to impress in front of the home crowd, they were not going to disappoint. With two minutes left on the clock, and a game high 26 point lead (96-70), coach Lavery was comfortable enough to give his younger players another showing, as was the case in last week’s victory.

Tuck was able to make a three point play with the “and 1” before Jason Helsby got his name on the score sheet as well, receiving a huge applause from the home fans. Langhurst finished off the points with two free throws, but Cheshire held the ball to run down the clock to end the regular season.

MVP of the game without doubt was captain O’Reilly, who made a fantastic triple-double (17pts, 10rbs, 10assts), but every player give it their all in the second half of the game. There were also two “unofficial” triple doubles from Bill Cole (20pts, 11rbs – 10 defensive) and Matt Schneck (17pts, 14 rbs – 10 defensive) and alongside these figures stands Kai Williams top scoring with 25 points, shooting 73% of his field goals, 11 from 15. Adam Brown contributed with 17 points of his own, capping off a wonderful display from the Cheshire side.

Now we roll on to the playoffs where Cheshire Jets will now take on Worcester Wolves (at Worcester on Saturday and at home the following night). Sheffield will now face Leicester Riders as a result of finishing seventh.

Cheshire Jets: 20, 48, 74, 98
Sheffield Sharks: 23, 46, 59, 77

Jets: Williams (25), Cole (20), Brown/O’Reilly/Schneck (17)
Sharks: Babalola (18), Langhurst/Patton (16), Tuck (11)