Sheffield Sharks fall to Leicester Riders

The Sharks allowed the division pacesetters to close out a comfortable win as they were outscored 44-26 in the second half.

Leicester had been expected to show fatigue as this was their second game in as many nights.

However Sheffield were unable to take any advantage.

Coach Atiba Lyons said:“We spoke before the game about playing with more energy. I thought we did that fairly well in the first half but we let the game get away from us once we began to execute poorly.”

The Sharks were able to take the lead in the first quarter but soon let Leicester take control at the beginning of the second quarter.

Captain Mike Tuck was a stand out performer contributing 22 points and 13 rebounds.

TJ Robinson was the only other scorer to get in double figures with 14 points in little over 30 minutes. The team clearly missed the presence of point guard and leading scorer Jerrold Brooks.

Sheffield committed 17 turnovers which ties for their second worse performance in the BBL Championship this season in that category.

The team’s perimeter defence was also lacking. They allowed Leicester to shoot 40% from beyond the arc.

Leicester found scoring much easier. Leicester’s quartet Tyler Bernardini, Neil Watson, Trevor Gruis and Andre Sullivan all scored in double figures. They combined for 62 points, six more than Sheffield managed as a team.

A win for Worcester Wolves against Brighton Flyers will mean Sheffield fall to fourth in the league table with just three games to play.

The team travel to Manchester to face the Giants today.