Sharks left dismayed by stunning Leeds victory

Quote of the Week

Giants’ Head Coach Jeff Jones. Photo by Jack Hinds Photography.

Cheshire have strengthened since the last time we played them and talent-wise they are the second strongest team in the league, behind Newcastle, and that may only be because Newcastle, as a core of players, have been together longer.

For us to win, we have to not miss a shot, give up no turnovers and get every rebound on the defensive end of the floor, and then we may have a chance, but as always we won’t quit and we do all we can to win.Giant’s Head Coach Jeff Jones

BBL Championship

Sheffield Sharks 60 (15, 31, 48) (Lewis 18, Babalola 14, Tuck 12)
Leeds Force 62 (12, 31, 46) (Attah 21, Hall 14, Anebo 8)

Force coaches celebrate a famous victory

Leeds Force began 2015 with a bang as they shocked Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Sharks to claim a 60-62 victory at EIS Sheffield on Friday.

Broken hand sees BJ in his walking clothes.

The Sheffield club entered the game off-the-back of five straight league wins, and a comfortable success the last time the teams met back in December.

It looked like their resurgence would continue too, as Mike Tuck connected on a looping three-pointer to give the hosts a 60-58 advantage with 48 seconds to play.

But James McCann profited from a Sharks turnover to come up with a big triple that saw Leeds edge in front 60-61 with just 18 seconds remaining.

Atiba Lyons’ men could not conjure a response in the closing moments as Force clung on for a famous victory, which ends a run of three consecutive defeats and ties the head-to-head one a piece.

Central to the success was debutant Sam Attah, signed earlier in the week having spent the early part of the season with Durham Wildcats. He scored a game-high 21 points as Force recorded their fourth league win of the season.

Sharks slip to an 8-7 record, despite 18 points from Nick Lewis.