Williams Wills Sharks To Victory In Overtime Trophy Thriller
Manchester Giants were knocked out of the BBL Trophy on Thursday night after they were defeated in overtime by the One Health Sheffield Sharks.
It was their second loss to the Sharks in less than a week after they suffered a 68-87 defeat in the League on Sunday.
Sharks power forward Mike Tuck led the way with 20 points and 10 rebounds but missed two free-throws with five seconds left in regulation which could have sealed the game for the visitors.
The Sharks brushed off their disappointment and were able to battle their way to victory and will now face the winner of the game between the Glasgow Rocks and the City of Edinburgh Kings in the Quarter Finals of the competition. Micah Williams also had a strong showing for the visitors scoring four of his 20 points in the extra period as the Sharks went on a 12-0 scoring run and held the Giants to just a single basket in OT.
The home-side were paced by Devan Bailey who finished with 17 points and seven assists. The loss was the Giants third in their last four games after back-to-back wins at the start of December.
Starting Fives
Manchester Giants: Bailey, J. Jones, Aliu, Watts, Eaves
Sheffield Sharks: Holmes, Williams, Jemison, Tuck, Babalola
It had all started so well for the home-side as they opened up an early eight point lead following a pair of free-throws by David Watts with 5:07 left in the opening period. However they went ice-cold from the field missing their next 10 shots as the Sharks capitalised with a 7-0 run and only trailed 13-12 at the end of the first quarter.
The Giants picked up the pace at the start of the second period and went on a 7-0 spurt of their own as Mike Bernard, Ben Eaves and Stefan Gill were able to get all the way to the basket for easy scores. The home-side won the battle in the paint; outscoring their opponents 48-36 on the night yet they put up 26 attempts from behind the arc and only managed to knock down three.
Williams was a perfect 4-for-4 from the field as he scored nine points in the period on a variety of pull-up jump-shots mixed in with some silky drives to the basket. He drained a shot from the top of the key to tie the game at 24 apiece and was a constant threat to the Giants defense whenever he had the ball in his hands.
A made free-throw by the Giants Dave Aliu put the hosts back up by one but once again they struggled to close out the quarter as they only scored two points in the final four minutes of the half. To compound their misery they were unable to stop the Sharks at the defensive end and allowed the visitors to make another 7-0 run to close out the period and take a 37-29 lead into the half-time break.
The home-team came out in the 3rd quarter with a much more aggressive mind-set as they only attempted two shots from behind the arc with all of their points coming in the paint or from the free-throw line. Ben Eaves scored five of his 11 points in the quarter and finished with 11 rebounds in the game for his team-leading sixth double-double of the season. His tip-in with 6:51 left in the period cut the Sharks lead to four but the visitors responded immediately as Tuck scored inside and Williams drilled a 3-pointer from the right-wing to put the Sharks up by nine.
The two sides traded buckets throughout the quarter but the Giants stepped up their intensity heading into the fourth quarter with back-to-back layups by Callum Jones in the final 1:29. The second one coming right at the buzzer after Gill stole the ball from Sheffield’s Nick Lewis and found Jones on the fast-break and he converted a difficult shot on the run as time expired.
The Giants carried that momentum into the final period as they scored five straight with Mike Bernard scoring from close-range following a nice spin-move and then Devan Bailey gave them their first lead of the half with a 3-pointer from the top of the key.
Holmes put the Sharks back ahead with a 3-ball of his own before Demetrius Jemison extended the visitors lead with a pair from the line. Gill found Aliu inside for a score from close-range but Holmes scored a tough turn-around jumper and Tuck found some space in the paint for another layup to give his side a 60-55 lead with 6:39 left.
The Giants clamped down defensively and held the Sharks scoreless over the next three minutes as went on their largest run of the game scoring 11 unanswered points. A driving layup by Bailey gave the home-side the lead and then a 3-pointer by Gill put them up by four. Callum Jones then pushed it to six with an aggressive move to the basket as the Giants appeared to be on the brink of victory holding a six-point advantage with 3:28 left.
However, they misfired on their next two attempts from the field and the Sharks went on a 6-0 run to tie the game up on Babalola’s close range shot with 1:38 remaining. Following a miss by Jones; Holmes sized up Gill before banking-home a 3-pointer with just two seconds left on the shot clock to give the visitors a three-point advantage with a minute left to play in regulation.
On the Giants’ next possession Bailey found Eaves in the paint for a reverse layup to cut the deficit to just a point with 40 seconds remaining. The hosts played good defense and forced a contested jumper from Holmes which came off the back of the rim but nobody boxed-out Babalola as the Sharks big-man rumpled through the paint for a ferocious put-back dunk which put the visitors back up by three with 17 seconds to go. Bailey then misfired on a 3-pointer from the wing which meant the home-side were forced to foul and put Sheffield on the free-throw line to stand a chance at extending the game.
Tuck went to the line and proceeded to miss both foul shots leaving to give the home-side a glimmer of hope. Eaves corralled the rebound and passed it to Watts to set up a desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer. As he crossed the halfway line and prepared to launch the shot he was inexplicably fouled by Babalola; sending him to the free-throw line for three shots to force overtime with just a second left on the clock. Watts – a career 79% free-throw shooter stepped up and calmly drained all three freebies to the delight of the home-crowd and send the game into overtime.
The visitors drew first-blood in overtime as Williams continued his scoring run with a step-back jumper following an offensive rebound. After fighting so valiantly to get to overtime the Giants struggled to generate high-percentage looks at the basket in the extra-period with six of their nine field-goal attempts coming from behind the 3-point line and none of them found their mark. The Sharks were the more aggressive of the two sides and managed to get to the free-throw line six times during the additional five minutes; making all six attempts as they pulled away from their hosts. The home-side finally managed to get on the scoreboard when Bailey converted a driving layup with 36 seconds left but it was too little too late as they trailed 83-73 before Tuck completed the scoring with a layup just seven seconds later.
The Giants must now concentrate on their league form as they approach a critical point in their season. They currently lie in 10th place just two points behind the London Lions who occupy the eighth and final Playoff spot and have played the same number of games. They will take on the sixth place Glasgow Rocks at home next Friday looking to avenge the 77-83 defeat they suffered back in November.
Play of the Game
Olu Babalola’s huge put-back dunk with 17 seconds left in the 4th quarter sucked the air out of the building and stunned the Giants crowd. Nobody boxed out the 6’6 Sharks forward and he punished the visitors with a ferocious jam that will probably have given a few Giants defenders nightmares on Thursday night.
Game MVP
Micah Williams
Top Scorers
Manchester Giants: Bailey 17, Watts 13, Eaves/C. Jones 11
Sheffield Sharks: Tuck 20, Williams 20, Holmes 16
Next Up
Manchester Giants – Glasgow Rocks, Friday 11th January, 19:30, Wright Robinson High School
One Health Sheffield Sharks – Mersey Tigers, Friday 11th January, 19:30, Knowsley Leisure & Culture Park
