Tag: Sheffield Sharks

Leicester Riders are through to the Super League Basketball Playoffs Final after beating Sheffield Sharks 172-162 over two legs in the Semi-Final. 

They entered the game down 10 points, but after a red-hot start tied the game early. The sides battled out a hard-fought affair from there to the finish in overtime, but the Riders found form through Jaylin Hunter to win it. 

Hunter led the game with 24 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists, hitting two threes in overtime on his way to 12 points in the extra period. Hunter had all but two of the Riders’ overtime points. 

Spencer Johnson got them there with a monster fourth quarter on his way to 22 on the night. He had 11 in the fourth quarter, which featured a continual back-and-forth. 

Charles Thompson had 18 on the night after a dominant start to the affair, and Zach Jackson was his typical brilliant best throughout to get 18. 

It was an off night for Sheffield’s stars. Rickey McGill, who had 32 in the first leg, went 2-13 on his way to 10 points, and Prentiss Nixon had 10. They shot 39% from the field in the game. 

The Riders progressed through to the Final at the O2 Arena, London, on Sunday May 18. 

Riders bolt out the gate to tie the fixture

The Riders overcame their 10 point deficit immediately. Sheffield had no answer for Charles Thompson’s physicality, who slammed it down three times in the opening period to make a statement and score 10 first quarter points

Jacob Groves kept the Sharks treading water with 8 points. He was all over the offensive glass, and the sides ended the first locked at 102 on aggregate.

The scoring slowed in the second period, and Sheffield settled back into the game, rebuilding their lead to six at the foul line. But the Riders quickly hit back to tie it through Hunter and Johnson. 

Johnson had 7 points in his first 13 minutes of action, hitting Leicester’s only three. The Riders started 1-11 from deep after a difficult shooting performance in the first leg, but still led on the night. 

Zach Jackson, who had 10 points in the first half, finished the second quarter with a bucket from the midrange to make it 122-120 on aggregate going into the locker rooms. 

Sharks battle back after Riders take third quarter lead

Leicester’s cold shooting continued to start the third quarter, until Johnson snapped the streak with a corner triple to put them up eight. 

But the Sharks hit back through a Rodney Glasgow Jr three- their third of the night. That stemmed the tide for Sheffield, who were then able to make it a one-score game through James Reese V on the fastbreak. 

To end the third, Sheffield came back into the lead on aggregate through a triple from Jamell Anderson. The sides entered the fourth with Sheffield up two. 

The second half swung back and forth, and the Riders were the ones to have the next say in the game’s outcome. Johnson broke out from a steal from Hunter for his second straight score to make it a 12-point lead on the night, and two on aggregate. 

Breathless fourth quarter ends with Riders trailing

The fourth quarter was nothing short of electric. There were 10 lead changes, and the sides were locked within one score of each other throughout. 

Johnson’s buckets were crucial to keeping the sides in step. He had 9 straight points for the Riders to start the quarter, finding success leaking out on the break for transition buckets. 

Donovan Clay fouled out for the Sharks after an impressive outing. The Riders looked one bucket away from sealing the deal after Jackson put them up two points late, but they couldn’t sink the dagger. 

Instead, McGill ran out on the break with seconds ticking down, and was sent to the foul line. He made both to tie it.

The Riders had 2.7 seconds to find a game winner, but couldn’t find a bucket from the post to send the game to overtime. 

Hunter dominates overtime 

Hunter took over at the start of overtime. He drained back-to-back triples to put the hosts up eight and sent his home crowd into raptures. 

Meanwhile, Sheffield missed their first six shots in overtime as they fell in a hole, scoring for the first time with a minute left. 

Thompson picked up his fifth foul midway through overtime to see him sidelined, and in his place came Ethan Wright. Wright was immediately tested at the rim, and sent McGills shot away emphatically. 

From there, Leicester saw the game out at the foul line through Hunter as the Sharks missed four attempts from deep down the stretch. 

That won the game, and sent the Riders to the O2 Arena for the Final. 

Leicester Riders lost the First Leg of the Super League Basketball Playoff Semi-Final 85-75 to Sheffield Sharks. 

The Riders were down 20 in the third quarter, but led by Ethan Wright’s heroics, they battled to get back into the tie. Wright had 14 and 6 off the bench, and Charles Thompson led the team with 16 points and 12 rebounds. 

Leicester started the game shooting 1-15 from three as they fell into their 20 point hole early in the third. Wright sparked the comeback, and the Riders cut it to four near the end of the third quarter, but Rickey McGill went off late to rebuild some of Sheffield’s advantage. McGill had 32 on the night. 

Zach Jackson went off in the final minute to bring the Riders to within reach. He drained a tough three over a tight contest on the buzzer to make the difference 10 going back to Leicester. 

Now the Riders need to grit their teeth and battle back in front of their home crowd on Sunday. 

Clash of Titans ends in first quarter stalemate 

A battle between the side’s big-name players made for an electric start to the battle. The first quarter featured 10 lead changes. 

Thompson, named to the Team of the Year earlier in the day alongside Jackson, dominated the paint from the jump. He had 6 points and 4 rebounds in five minutes, and showed off his ball-handling ability in transition to get a bucket going coast-to-coast. 

But back-to-back threes from Rickey McGill, who scored 31 in the Second Leg of the Quarter-Final for Sheffield, represented a hot shooting start for the hosts’ star guard. McGill had 8 points in the opening period to nullify Thompson and keep the score level. 

McGill leads Sharks to halftime lead

Sheffield built a lead to start the second period. They went on a 9-0 run and built a nine-point advantage through Jacob Groves in the corner, forcing a Riders timeout with 7:20 left in the half. 

Leicester had to weather the storm to stay in contention- there was a lot of game left in the Semi-Final. They had started 1-12 from three 17 minutes into the game, and were waiting for their long bombs to start dropping as Sheffield’s were. 

McGill closed the half with a bang to give Sheffield a 14-point lead at halftime. He drained a three for his second straight bucket and 15th points of the game. The score was 46-32 at the break. 

Ethan Wright leads Riders third quarter comeback

Despite Jaylin Hunter bringing his game tally to 10 with a turnaround jumper in the midrange, the Riders couldn’t take the lid off the basket from deep at the start of the second half. They missed their first two attempts to make it 1-15. Meanwhile, Sheffield built their lead to 18. 

Hunter got the Riders rolling with a corner three, which started a 9-2 run. Wright injected his energy into the game for a series of momentum-changing plays. His chase-down block, putback layup and buzzer-beating three cut it to eight with seven straight Wright points. 

Deep shots started to fall for the Riders, with Jackson getting in on the action near the end of the third. McGill was sent to the foul line for three shots to end the period, making it 65-57, but Leicester were back in the game after falling down 20. 

Zach Jackson shot-making cuts into deficit late 

McGill caught a heater to start the fourth, draining back-to-back triples to make the lead double digits once again. Wright kept up the fight with his relentless hustle, but Leicester couldn’t make inroads. 

Hunter and Thompson had a go at it with a 5-0 run. Hunter hit from three to give him 16 on the night. McGill again had the response and made it 81-68 with a layup on the run. 

Jackson had the final say in the ball game, getting it to go through contact at the hoop before draining a tough look from three over Jamell Anderson on the buzzer, meaning the Riders have a 10-point deficit to overcome in Leicester on Sunday. 

Second Leg in Leicester!

The return leg, played at Mattioli Arena, Leicester, takes place on Sunday, May 11 at 3 pm. 

All tickets are £10. You can get them here!

Leicester Riders take on Sheffield Sharks over two legs in the Super League Basketball Playoffs Semi-Final.

The First Leg will be played at Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield, on Friday, May 9, before the return leg on Sunday, May 11, in Leicester. 

These sides have shared some of the most entertaining, closely fought battles in British basketball this season, and now go head-to-head for the right to play in the Playoff Final at the O2 Arena. 

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the First Leg. 

Fixture information 

Sheffield Sharks vs Leicester Riders

Super League Basketball Playoffs Semi-Final First Leg

Canon Medical Arena, Sheffield 

Friday, May 9, 7:30 pm

Leicester Riders beat Bristol Flyers comfortably in Quarter-Finals

The Riders brushed Bristol aside in the Playoff Quarter-Finals. They won 164-135 over two legs, and went into the fourth quarter leading by 42 points. 

The hard work was done in the opening leg. Leicester beat Bristol by 23 points, holding the Flyers to four points in the first six minutes of the second half to grow their lead. The Riders built a similar advantage in the Second Leg to seal the win in front of their home crowd. 

Leicester’s leading scorer on the season, Zach Jackson, impressed over the two legs. He averaged 17.5 points and 4 rebounds on an efficient 57% from the field, maintaining his regular-season form in the postseason.

The Riders now face a sterner test in the Semi-Finals against the Cup-winning Sheffield Sharks. 

Sheffield Sharks rally in Second Leg to beat Cheshire Phoenix

It was not smooth sailing for the Sharks in their first-round playoff matchup. They had to battle back against Cheshire after losing by 10 points on the road in the First Leg. 

A 99-82 win got the job done at home, but the game came down to the clutch through a gritty Phoenix effort. It was a four-point game on aggregate with under a minute remaining before 5 points from Rickey McGill got them over the line. 

McGill, a midseason acquisition, went off for an incredible 31 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists in the Second Leg to see the Sharks through to the Semi-Final. He was backed by 17 from Prentiss Nixon, who scored 22 in the First Leg. 

McGill is an ever-dangerous threat, as proved by his miraculous game-tying shot last time Sheffield came to Leicester. 

Leicester Riders vs Sheffield Sharks: Season series

In their final meeting of the season, the Riders pulled off a miraculous win against Sheffield Sharks without three of their key players. 

Duke Shelton and Conner Washington both missed the game, and Jaylin Hunter picked up his second technical foul midway through the fourth. But the Riders dug deep and overcame McGill’s last-second heroics in regulation to win 100-95 in overtime, led by 28 from Jackson. 

That was the Riders’ first win against Sheffield in their four meetings during the season, but the sides pushed each other to the limit throughout the year. Two of the three Sheffield wins were decided by a single score- the Riders missing shots on the buzzer on both occasions.

The Riders beat the Sharks to the second seed with a 23-9 record during the league season, meaning they’re rewarded with the advantage of a home Second Leg in front of the Leicester crowd. But a good start to the series, such as the Riders’ win in Bristol, is pivotal should they want to progress to the Final. 

Tickets to the Second Leg only £10!

The Second Leg of this matchup is on Sunday, May 11 at 3pm, and all tickets are £10!

Get yours here!

Leicester Riders continue their end-of-season gauntlet in the Super League Basketball Championship, taking on fellow title contenders Sheffield Sharks at home. 

With all three title protagonists, the Riders, Sharks and London Lions all tripping up in their recent games, this battle represents an opportunity to pile the pressure onto the league-leading Lions while handing a loss to the second-placed Sharks. 

However, Sheffield have been a thorn in the side of the Riders all season. They handed the Riders their only league home loss of the year, and have a 3-0 record against Leiecster on the year. 

Fixture information

Leicester Riders vs Sheffield Sharks

Super League Basketball Championship 

Mattioli Arena, Leicester

Friday, April 11, 7:30 pm

Super League Basketball title race 

It could hardly be closer at the top of the Championship standings in the final month of action. 

Three teams can still win the title, with London Lions the favorites currently possessing first place. 

The Lions have a 21-6 record with five remaining games, followed by the 18-8 Sharks with six games left, and the 17-8 Riders with seven games to go. 

These three teams duel it out against each other in April to decide the title. London and Sheffield play twice, Leicester and London play in London on April 23, and the Riders take on Sheffield Sharks in this one. 

The league will likely be decided by the team who can knock off their title rivals in these momentous games. 

Recent form

The Riders have faltered on the road in recent weeks, but leaning on their home form, they have remained in contention for the Championship title. 

A win against the London Lions on Friday was a statement to their contemporaries. It was an 80-71 victory in which Leicester led by 18 in the final period. The Lions battled back to make it a four point difference late, but Zach Jackson, who led Leicester with 17, hit the dagger from range to take a crucial victory. 

A win in Caledonia two days later would have left the Riders in the driver’s seat for the title. But the second game in a doubleheader, especially on the road, always presents a challenge. The Riders fell short in Scotland 93-88. 

Fortunately, midweek results went the Riders’ way. London Lions fell at home to Manchetser in a thrilling one score affair, and Sheffield lost 71-64 on the road to Bristol Flyers. 

Sheffield’s form in particular has dovetailed since mid-March. They’re 3-4 in their last seven games, and enter this tie having lost their last three on the road. Late in the year, travel weighs heavy on tired legs, and with the Sharks having suited up on Tuesday evening, they’ll have to dig deep in Leicester. 

Season series

Leicester Riders, 0-3 against Sheffield Sharks on the year, will be determined to get one over on their South Yorkshire opponents in what is their most consequential meeting of the season. 

Despite not having overcome the Sharks on the year, the Riders will feel like games got away from them, especially in their previous meeting. 

Leicester led by eight in the fourth, and by four with two minutes on the clock, close to stealing a win in Sheffield. But buckets from big man Donovan Clay and sharpshooting guard Prentiss Nixon saw Sheffield come back to take a victory at home. 

The current season record means the Sharks will hold the head-to-head should their records be tied at the end of the season, but a victory for the Riders would mean a four-point swing in their favour as they hope to battle back and take the SLB Championship. 

Tickets available: Kids go for a quid!

Tickets for this game are still available, and children under 16 go for a quid.

You can secure your spot here!

Leicester Riders fell 77-76 in a battle against Sheffield Sharks. Leicester gave the Sharks a war in a building which they hadn’t lost in all season. They led by four with a minute and half remaining, but the Sharks made plays down the stretch to take the win. 

Riley Abercrombie had a chance to send the game to overtime at the foul line with 0.8 seconds left, but made one out of the pair as the Riders fell just short. 

Charles Thompson continued his dominant week with 16 points and 9 rebounds, scoring 8 straight points out of the half to give control of the game to his side. Ethan Wright was infectious with his energy on both ends to finish with 13 points, and Jaylin Hunter pulled strings from the point to log 12 points and 6 assists. 

Meanwhile Prentiss Nixon scored 20 to lead the game for Sheffield. 

The Riders fall to 14-6 on the season with a month and a half to play. 

Hot Sharks start

A hot Sheffield start saw them jump out to an early lead. They went 6-8 from the field from the jump led by 7 points from Nixon, who found rhythm with a triple three minutes in. 

Riders’ shots wouldn’t fall from the outside. They started 0-4 from beyond the arc in a tough offensive start. They battled inside to keep in touch, Duke Shelton coming off the bench for three scores midway through the period, but were down 20-14 with 2:30 on the clock. 

Shelton ended the first with a right handed finish over Jacob Groves, making it 25-19 with one played. 

Riders resolve shooting struggles through Wright

Shooting struggles continued to start the second, with Wright hitting the team’s only three through their first seven attempts. Wright was the one to snap the cold streak in transition, however, stringing one from the wing to make it a one score game. 

Sheffield maintained their lead at the foul line, as their star scorer Rickey McGill earned charity shots consistently in the second period. The Riders momentum brought them a shot away from the lead on multiple occasions, but they couldn’t knock that shot down to get the edge in the fixture. 

Wright’s triple earlier in the second took the lid off. He hit three by halftime, and Abercrombie’s corner triple kept the heat on the hosts. With a minute left in the half, Zach Jackson drained one from the top to give Leicester their first lead since early in the first. 

Sheffield’s Donovan Clay ended the second at the rim, and the score was 42-41 in the Sharks’ favour at the break. 

Thompson third quarter takeover

Thompson turned up the offensive aggression to start the third with 8 straight points. He attacked the rim with authority and found no answer at the rim, making an and-one play in transition to give Leicester a three point lead. 

The Riders put on the style on the break, as Jaylin Hunter dished a flashy no-look to Thompson who rewarded his point guard with a throw down for the play of the game. Leicester rallied behind Thompson to build a lead, with Hunter hitting a tough three from the corner to make it a six point advantage. 

James Reese V made the final play of the third for the Sharks, making it 56-60 going into the fourth and final stanza. 

Sides exchange blows to set up thrilling finale 

Wright made a momentous play to start the fourth, stripping it from Nixon and drawing an unsportsmanlike foul. His foul shots made it an eight point Leicester lead. Wright’s intensity threw the Sharks’ offence out of rhythm in a key moment in the game. 

The Sharks bit back through Clay, however, whose post play earned him four quick points and forced a Riders timeout up four. The big man scored again out of the timeout to make it a one score affair with six minutes left. 

The Riders’ response came from their in form big man, as Thompson hit a rainbow fadeaway over Clay. But Nixon’s three next time down cut it to one, and set up a tense finale. 

Sharks make late plays

Abercrombie started the final four minutes with an and-one to give the Riders some cushion. Thompson reached from behind the backboard to lay in a circus shot next time down, but Clay and Nixon hit back with 1:30 left in the game to keep it within a score. Nixon drew an offensive foul next time down, giving the hosts a shot to tie. 

Clay took that chance with a baseline drive and a jam, and after Hunter couldn’t get his mid range effort to go, Nixon drove inside to give the Sharks a 77-75 lead with 17 seconds left. 

Shooting to send it to overtime, Spencer Johnson missed a fadeaway, but Abercrombie pulled down the rebound and was sent to the foul line. He made the first but missed the second, meaning Leicester fell in a heartbreaker. 

The Riders return to action on Friday, hosting the Newcastle Eagles.

Leicester Riders lost for the first time this season, falling in a heartbreaker 79-82 against Sheffield Sharks. 

The Riders led by as much as 10 in the fourth, but the Sharks caught fire from deep to fight back into the lead. Zach Jackson scored eight straight late to tie it, but another Sharks three was the difference, with Jackson unable to tie it on the final buzzer. 

Jackson took player of the game honours with 20 points and seven rebounds going 8-16 from the field. 

Meanwhile Sheffield’s EC Mathews led the visitors with 18 points and 5 rebounds, and a clutch three to win it. 

Tight start sets the tone

Ethan Wright got the game going with a bang, his three representing one of the first five Leicester points of the game, all from Wright. He and Riley Abercrombie drained the first two threes of the night for the hosts to make it 10-8 to the hosts. 

But the Sharks, entering the game as the League’s premiere deep shooters, drained three triples early in the game to ensure a back and forth start to the action. Former Rider Jamell Anderson knocked down a three, his first shot of the game, to tie it up at 16. 

For Leicester, Duke Shelton threw down the highlight of the first quarter after receiving a flashy pass from Jaylin Hunter, and Zach Jackson closed the period with a steal on EC Mathews, the Riders leading 22-21. 

Riders close half strong to cut into deficit 

Blake Bowman, checking into the game, grabbed the Riders’ ninth offensive board for an and-one play to get the second underway. But three straight triples from Sheffield saw them snatch their first two-possession lead of the game, the final from guard Prentiss Nixon. 

Nixon drove the lane next time up to put Sheffield up six with a euro on the run. While Leicester knocked on the door, a three from Spencer Johnson cutting into the deficit, they couldn’t get over the hump to snatch the lead back in the second quarter. 

Riders star defensive big Charles Thompson amassed only seven minutes in the first half after getting into foul trouble. Despite his absence, Abercrombie’s sharpshooting saw Leicester cut the game to one with back-to-back hits from distance. The Aussie had 13 points at the half time break, but the Riders trailed 46-49.

Hunter lights Leicester spark

The Sharks, after shooting 50% from deep in the first half, hit their first in the second through Javon Groves. With Leicester in need of a spark, Jaylin Hunter caught fire. 

He chased down Rodney Chatman on the break for a swat out of bounds, then rebounded his following missed three and took off coast to coast. He drove hard to the lane, before reaching out to throw one up and the rim and sinking an emphatic and-one play to tie the game.

Hunter then pulled up from the top for his first three of the night, and stole the ball from Anderson on the next play and layed it in for his seventh straight points. Abercrombie followed up with a three from the wing, and Leicester led 62-57. 

Donovan Clay ended the third with a pair of foul shots for the visitors, making it a four point affair with one to play. 

Sharks respond to Riders run to set the stage

Spencer Johnson got the fourth going underway with a tough make from deep, beating the shot clock buzzer for three. He was backed by Conner Washington’s three which made it a ten point lead. 

The Sharks bit back immediately to make it a one possession game. Groves drained a three to start the run, before Mathews’ and-one and Jordan Ratinho’s finish at the rim made the score 71-69. Groves then gave them the lead with another triple with six minutes left. 

Sheffield were red hot in the fourth. Ratinho connected with their third triple of the final period with four minutes on the clock to make the lead six.

Falling short in a thrilling finale

With the game slipping away from Leicester, Jackson stepped up to nail back to back threes and tie the game at 77. Clay found a bucket for Sheffield to reclaim the lead, but Jackson, with his eighth straight points for the Riders, put Abercrombie’s miss back in to tie it again. 

With 1:11 on the clock, Mathews stepped up for Sheffield from behind the line to drain another triple and snatch the lead. 

The Riders had 18 seconds on the clock to find a response and send it to overtime, but Jackson’s three hit back iron and the Riders fell just short.

The Riders are back in action next week, heading to Sheffield to face the Sharks on the road on Sunday, November 17.

They then return back home on Friday, November 29 to face Manchester Basketball.

You can get your tickets here!