Sheffield Sharks’ season ends in narrow play-off loss
Sharks exited the BBL play-offs at the quarter-final stage by just two points after drawing the second leg with rivals Newcastle Eagles
Eagles’ slender two-point advantage from Tuesday night’s 79-77 first-leg win was enough to see them through to the last four.
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Hide AdSharks had built a 13-point lead at one stage at the neutral venue of Worcester but Eagles rallied in the third quarter and reclaimed the advantage.
In a dramatic conclusion which saw the aggregate lead change hands multiple times, Jeremy Hemsley put Sharks in front on the night and level on aggregate with a jump shot with just 8.2 seconds left on the clock.
But Rhamon Fletcher sunk a two-pointer with 0.7 seconds leaving Sharks without enough time on the clock to get the ball up the court.
Head coach Atiba Lyons said: “They’re a great group of guys. I’m proud of them and they did a great job.”
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Hide AdKipper Nichols led the scoring with a BBL career high 20 points. Hemsley added 15, while Jordan Ratinho and Antwon Lillard added 12 points apiece.
There was similar disappointment for Worcester Wolves in last night’s other quarter-final second leg.
The Wolves, coached by former Leeds Force chief Matt Newby who steered them to BBL Cup success last season, went into the second leg with Plymouth Raiders trailing by only two points.
But the Raiders ran out comfortable 96-81 winners on the night.
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