James Jones had 27 points and 6 assists, with his 12 third quarter points proving crucial; David Watts added 20 points and 7 rebounds. Gage Daye led all scorers with 30 points in vain for the Sharks.
The visitors dominated much of the first half and opened the game with a triple through Micah Williams, only to be pegged back through an inside play from Morakinyo Williams and Stefan Gill’s triple.
It didn’t last long as the Sharks came back with the next 7 points in what became a 9-2 burst including 7 for Daye as they led 7-12.
A score from David Watts and an ‘and-one’ play from David Aliu tied the teams again at 12.
But from there the Sharks took control, as they had been threatening to do, with a 16-3 surge over a four minute period; it was started by 4 points for Mike Tuck and included triples for both Williams and Andrew Bridge, making the score 15-28. The Giants pulled it back, but still trailed 20-30 after the first quarter.
The visitors stretched their lead early in the second with a 7-2 opening that included another 5 for Williams and took him to 13 points as the first half lead peaked at 22-37.
The Giants did find their feet with a 7-0 run that was capped by Gill’s triple, but they struggled to contain the Sharks to a single-figure lead.
Signs of a change came soon after: Gill hit another three-pointer – his third of the half – with 2.15 to play and the Giants got as close as 42-47 on Callum Jones’s basket, only for Daye to score a buzzer-beating three-point dagger that could have deflated the Giants heading into the break trailing 42-50.
The Sharks put the lead back into double-digits with the first score of the second half, but from there the hosts came storming back. A score from Mo Williams and a James Jones three-pointer followed, and then, midway through the period, they rattled off 10 straight points, including two more Jones triples, while keeping their visitors scoreless for over three minutes to take a sudden lead at 64-62 with three minutes to play in the quarter.
The run continued, through Watts, Gill, and Jones again and became 16-0 for a score of 70-62, at which point the Sharks called timeout.
But that didn’t stop Jones and the Giants, as he scored the next basket and their lead was double-digits at 72-62 in what was a startling 20-point swing in the third quarter. By the time Micah Williams scored a three-pointer for the Sharks, they had gone scoreless for five minutes and trailed 72-65 going into the fourth quarter.
The Sharks settled themselves after the break and scored the first two baskets of the decisive period to get back to 72-69. But Jones was there again for the Giants with a three-pointer, and he scored again before Watts hit a triple and Gill and Aliu scored to see their lead peak at 85-71. And from there, still with five minutes to play, the game was settled as the closest the Sharks would get was 87-78 on Zach Gachette’s score.
Story – BBL
Photos – Russell Hart
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