DBL Sharks Sheffield 82 Cheshire Phoenix 79

Without a permanent head coach in the wake of parting ways with Colin O’Reilly, the visitors gave themselves a great chance of taking a surprise victory but were left heartbroken by the late intervention of Sing.

The home side always seemed to have the edge, helped by Malcolm Riley who finished with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.

But with five scorers in double-digits, Phoenix produced a sharp team performance and came back from six points adrift at the end of the third period to set up the thrilling finale, as they almost caused the upset.

But they couldn’t execute down the stretch and now slip to 3-10 while a relieved Sharks improve to 9 and 6.

While leaving Cheshire crestfallen, there were still plenty of positives for caretaker Phoenix coach James Brice. Victory left Sheffield fourth in the table, eight points adrift of leaders Newcastle.

In a swift return to action following the scintillating 83-44 televised Yorkshire derby win over Leeds Force, the win for the Sharks extended their winning streak to four on the bounce. They go to London Lions tomorrow evening.

Meanwhile Leicester Riders completed their second successful salvage mission in as many games as they secured another comeback overtime success.

Trailing by seven points against London Lions with just over a minute remaining, they forced the extra period and made the most of their newfound momentum to rack up an eye-catching 99-89 win.