The Wolves brought a seven game winning streak into this one, having been unbeaten in two months and unbeaten on the road since 5 January.

In an amazing game, the Sharks produced perhaps their best half of the season in the first, but the Wolves almost matched that in the second to send the game right down to the wire. The Sharks posted a dominant 25-5 run in the first quarter as Mike Tuck scored 9 early points and they sank 8/8 free-throws late in the period to lead 31-17, the Wolves recovering to score 8 points in the final minute. And they stretched that lead as Nick Lewis and Andrew Bridge hit three-pointers in the second to help the score out to 50-27.

But that all changed dramatically in the third quarter.

The visitors, fresh out of the changing room, set about narrowing the gap with a 12-1 push as Alex Owumi hit five points and Sherrad Prezzie-Blue and Kai Williams added three-pointers to make the score 53-39.

Babalola settled the Sharks, but not for long as the Wolves rattled off another 11 straight points in what became a spell that nearly matched Sheffield’s first half efforts: 23-3 over an eight minute period to make the score 55-50 on Carlos Fernandez’s basket.

The Sharks settled the ship and still led 74-67 with a minute to play in the game. From there, Arnas Kazlauskas led Worcester’s last stand with a three-pointer, matched by Owumi with 12 seconds left after they forced a turnover, making it a one-point game at 74-73 with 12 seconds left.

Nick Lewis held his nerve at the line for the Sharks to sink 2/2 before both Prezzie-Blue and Kazlauskas had opportunities to tie the game from beyond the arc; after the second miss Tuck snatched the rebound and, fittingly, settled the game with the last two free-throws – the Sharks shot 18/22 from the line in the game, with it proving crucial down the stretch.

Things were more comfortable for the Marjon Plymouth Raiders and Surrey Heat. The Raiders, led by 26 points from Javarris Barnett, used a massive 31-6 second quarter to overcome the Mersey Tigers by 93-79, giving themselves enough of a cushion to withstand a late fightback. The Heat put on a dominant second half display to rout the Cheshire Phoenix 108-89, bouncing back from consecutive league defeats. Travis Holmes led the Heat with 30 points and 9 assists, supported by 22 points and 8 rebounds from Sam Cricelli.

the Newcastle Eagles maintained their hopes of retaining the BBL Championship and wins for the Surrey Heat and Marjon Plymouth Raiders saw them join the Glasgow Rocks on 18 wins in third place.

The Eagles survived a late comeback to win the North East derby against the Durham Wildcats by 96-92 at Sports Central. Six players scored more than 20 points as Charles Smith led the way with 27 and 10 rebounds, supported by Darius Defoe’s 24 points and 11 boards; Keith Page scored 26 in vain for the Wildcats.

They had far the better of the first half as they ended the first quarter with 9 of the last 11 points and scored 12 in a row to end the second quarter sparked by Smith’s three-pointer and including 5 for Anthony Martin, with only Brad Guinane’s late three-pointer pegging them back to 54-40 at the half.

And the game looked to be won as they opened the fourth quarter with an early 8-0 tear. The score was 93-75 heading in to the last five minutes when the Wildcats came storming all the way back to get to within one possession: their run was 17-1 over a four and a half minute period with Page adding another 6 as Ralph Bucci’s ‘and-one’ play made the score 94-92 with 10 seconds to play. But Joe Chapman kept his team’s Championship hopes alive as he made 2/2 at the free-throw line to settle the game.

Story – BBL

Photos – MPhotography

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