Third quarter three flurry leads Giants past Sharks
Manchester Giants 99 – 87 One Health Sheffield Sharks
Starting Fives
Manchester Giants – Stefan Gill, James Jones, David Aliu, David Watts, Morakinyo Williams
One Health Sheffield Sharks – Gage Daye, Micah Williams, Olu Babalola, Michael Tuck, Andrew Bridge
The Manchester Giants won their second home game of the season with a 99-87 victory over the One Health Sheffield Sharks. The Giants were once again led by sharpshooter James Jones who scored 27 points as the home-side used a 20-0 run in the third quarter to overturn a 10 point half-time deficit. The Sharks were paced by their American point guard Gage Daye who scored a game-high 30 points; 10 of them in the first quarter as the visitors raced to an early lead.
Aware of the threat that Sharks power forward Olu Babalola posed inside and the strong rebounding presence of their centre Mike Tuck. The Giants crowded the paint but neglected to cover the perimeter shooters. The Sharks used this to their advantage as they went on a 12-0 run to break away from their hosts early on. Daye was proving to be a difficult match-up for the Giants as he drew several early fouls on his way to the basket. He made all eight of his free-throw attempts on his way to 11 early points to put the visitors up 30-20.
The Giants began to establish themselves in the second and put together their first major run off the game. They scored seven unanswered points as centre Mike Bernard came off the bench and began to make his presence felt. He scored from close range before a layup by Jones and a 3-pointer by Stefan Gill pulled the hosts to within eight. Gill had a productive second quarter scoring eight of his 18 points and picking up two of his game-high five steals.
Morakinyo Williams and Callum Jones both scored inside to cut the Sharks lead to five but Gaye drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key with just a second left to give the visitors a 42-50 lead at the half.
The Giants turned the game on its head after the break as they went on a devastating 18-0 run. Bernard dropped in a short hook which was quickly followed by a 3-pointer from the right wing by Watts. James Jones then got out on the break for a finger-roll and after Watts blocked a layup attempt by Tuck; Bernard found Jones open on the right-wing and he drained a 3-pointer to give the Giants their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. The Sharks struggled to look after the ball as they committed five turnovers in the quarter and missed five straight attempts from the field. After a steal by Jones he found Gill in the open court who returned the ball to Jones. He dropped off a gorgeous touch-pass to the oncoming Watts who threw down a ferocious breakaway jam that had the crowd off their feet.
The Giants backcourt continued their tear as they had back-to-back steals leading to two more layups before Jones scored an impossible runner from virtually behind the backboard to give the home-side a 72-62 lead with 1:26 to play in the third. Williams finally knocked down a 3-pointer to end the Sharks scoring drought but their momentum was gone as they headed into the 4th trailing 72-65.
Whatever Sharks coach Atiba Lions said to his team during the break it clearly had an effect as his team set to regain their first half rhythm. They scored the first four points of the period to reduce the gap to three before Jones went on a five-point run of his own to put the hosts up 77-69.
The Giants were in the driving seat and any attempt the visitors made at a run was quickly snuffed out. Babalola converted a difficult layup to cut the lead down to six but the hosts scored seven unanswered points as Watts knocked-down a rainbow 3-pointer from the left wing. Gill then ghosted past his defender for a layup and Aliu took advantage of another Sharks turnover to put the Giants up 85-71 with 6:08 left in the game. Aliu had a solid game for the hosts scoring 12 points to go with his game-high 13 rebounds.
But it was Jones who had the final-say draining another two 3-pointers to give the hosts a 93-80 lead with two minutes left in the fourth and seal their second win of the season.
Plays of the game
Both of them came from James Jones and both came from behind the arc. The first one was a three-ball from the right wing that put the Giants back in front with 3:10 left to play in the third. The second came in the final stages of the 4th as he threw up a prayer from right in front of the Sharks bench. It splashed through the net with 2:30 left in the game to put the hosts up by 13 and the result beyond doubt
Game MVP
James Jones – 27 points on just 16 attempts from the field. Jones once again showed that he has a knack for knocking them down from behind the arc with another stellar performance from 3-point range. He made five of six from downtown and also added six assists and four rebounds and had his fingerprints all over the Giants comeback after their disappointing first half.
Top scorers
Manchester Giants – James Jones 27, David Watts 20, Stefan Gill 18
One Health Sharks Sheffield – Gage Daye 30, Micah Williams 22, Olu Babalola / Mike Tuck 12
Next up
Manchester Giants – Newcastle Eagles, Friday 5 October, 19:30, Wright Robinson Sports College
One Health Sheffield Sharks – Surrey Heat, Sunday 30 September, 17:00, EIS Sheffield
Photo courtesy of Rob McPherson & Catherine Moore of Mphotography.org.uk