B. Braun Sheffield Sharks suffered a setback
The B. Braun Sheffield Sharks suffered a setback in their quest for the best possible playoff seeding with defeat on the road at Surrey 89ers last weekend.
The Niners had already beaten the Sharks twice in league play this season and added a third loss in a tough afternoon down in Guildford. The Sharks are without a fixture this coming weekend but return to action on Wednesday week when they head to the Copperbox Arena to tackle the champions-elect London Lions.
The Sharks went into the Surrey encounter having defeated the Lions in an enthralling game at the Canon Medical Arena. Surrey had lost their last four games but had already picked up two wins against the Sharks back in January.
The game was fairly tight for the most part. Surrey edged themselves into a 46-40 lead by half time and even at 69-61 going into the final quarter, a Sheffield recovery wasn’t beyond the realms of possibility. However, Surrey finished strongly with a 26-16 final period and as the Sharks’ shots refused to drop, it was the 89ers who took a 95-77 victory.
Prentiss Nixon led the Sharks scoring effort with 16 points with Dirk Williams adding 12. Both William Lee and Nick Kern Jr weighed in with 10 and the Sharks most eye-catching player on the night, Fahro Alihodzic, also scored 10. Alihodzic also claimed 12 rebounds, 7 of which were off the offensive boards, in a display that captured all his veteran knowledge and ability.
Despite the loss, the Sharks remain in fourth place in the SLB Championship table with a 12 win, 11 loss record. The top eight qualify for the end of season playoffs and a top four finish is important for seeding and home venue reasons. The standings are tight with just four wins separating the teams in third to eighth so clearly there is no room for complacency.
The Sharks are without a game at the weekend but return to action a week on Wednesday when they head to the Copperbox Arena to take on league leaders, London Lions. The Sharks proved that the Lions are fallible with a 79-73 win at the Canon Medical Arena a fortnight ago and it will take a similar effort to defeat the men from the capital on their home territory. London take on Manchester in the SLB Cup Final at Manchester’s AO Arena on Sunday and hopefully their focus may just be on more silverware rather than the bread and butter of the SLB Championship.