Wildcats 71 Sharks 90 (BBL press report)
BBL Championship
The One Health Sharks Sheffield followed up last night’s victory with another comfortable 71-90 victory over the Durham Wildcats at the Newton Aycliffe Leisure Centre on Saturday night.
The result moved them level on points with the Glasgow Rocks into fourth position in the BBL Championship table.
The opening quarter saw both sides trading baskets throughout the period with the lead changing hands on a number of different occasions, but it was the home side who held the early lead as they ended the period strongly and held a slender one-point lead at 24-23 at the end of the first stanza.
In the second quarter however the Sharks established control from the outset as they broke the game open with a 14-0 tear to take the score out to 28-42 midway through the second period. An Olu Babalola basket took the score out to 32-52, but the Wildcats finished the half strongly as they netted four of the last six points to head into the locker rooms trailing 36-54 at the half.
A 10-2 burst from the Sharks, including back-to-back three-pointers from Jimmy Langhurst, took the score out to 40-66 midway through the third quarter and despite a resilient effort from the Wildcats to try and get themselves back into the contest the Sharks held onto a 19-point advantage at 52-71 heading into the final stanza.
In the final quarter the home side tried desperately to get themselves back into the game and an 11-2 run from the Wildcats closed the deficit to 11 points at 67-78 with 4:44 remaining in the game, but that was as close as Durham would get as the Sharks held off the fightback and secured the all-important victory.
Langhurst (pictured) followed up his high scoring performance last night with another stellar performance as he netted a game-high 27 points for the Sharks, while Mike Capocci led the scoring for the Wildcats with 18 points.
Durham Wildcats 71 (24,36,52) Capocci 18, Bucci/Flaherty 14
One Health Sharks Sheffield 90 (23,54,71) Langhurst 27, Dobbins 22, Babalola 15
