The Sharks are just getting warm
Friday 24th February 2012
BBL Championship – One Health Sharks Sheffield 110 Milton Keynes Lions 87
The oft-used cliché of a ‘game of two halves’ never applied more than to this comprehensive win for Sheffield Sharks over the MK Lions.
The Sharks welcomed Captain Adrian Anderson back on to the bench but the biggest pre-match welcome was for returnee Justin Dobbins, albeit suited up in the colours of the visitors for the night. Predictably it was Dobbins who posted the first points of the night as the Lions took charge of the first two periods.
The Sharks only found moderate success with a gameplan of shooting the three as Demarius Bolds led the Lions into an early lead. Somehow Sheffield hung in there as the 1st quarter closed with the scores on 17-21. The pink-booted Bolds again held sway in the 2nd, displaying his full range of talents as MK dominated the game on offence and defence. Perhaps Sheffield focused on the prolific scorer too much, allowing Stefan Gill to reign in several shots from distance. Dobbins and Northern for the Lions also won the battle under the net and a 38-43 scoreline at half time in favour of MK was just reward for a complete display of basketball.
Few can have predicted what was to follow. A 17-4 run for the Sharks was sparked by some superlative shooting from Zac Gachette, who contributed ten. In fact a 36 point quarter from the home side definitely upset the Lions game plan as tempers became frayed. Bolds received his fifth foul as a scuffle broke out which saw Gill and Langhurst receive technicals to match. The Sharks surge continued unabated as the shooting prowess of Jimmy Langhurst came to the fore. The crowd rose to a man at the end of the third with the score at 74-60 in as dominant a quarter of basketball as there had been at the EIS all season.
The final stanza saw Sheffield break the hundred point barrier, allowing time on the court for Nathaniel Akins and some exhibition play. The Lions were utterly broken as Langhurst (34 personal), Gachette (24 personal) and Tuck (24 personal) poured in points at will. Gill (21) was allowed some freedom with the ball game sewn up but a run of 53-31 in the final 15 minutes of the match demonstrated the power of the Sharks comeback. A final score of 110-87 and 72 second half points couldn’t even begin to reflect how well the Sheffield side had played.
Jimmy Langhurst and Zac Gachette were awarded joint MVP’s, despite Mike Tuck’s emphatic double-double as Coach New was left to reflect on how his Lions side could let such a commanding position slip. For the Sharks, on a night of high action throughout the BBL, the focus must remain firmly on achieving the best playoff position possible starting at Mersey Tigers next Friday.
