Sheffield Sharks 74-75 Worcester Wolves

Friday 12 March 2021

Worcester Wolves grabbed their fourth win on the bounce after edging past Sheffield Sharks in a 75-74 nail-biter on Friday.

Wolves’ visit to South Yorkshire looked comfortable as they eased into a 41-31 half-time cushion before Sharks shook things up in a heart-stopping final few moments.

Jordan Ratinho sank his fourth three-pointer to put Sheffield 74-73 to the good with just seven seconds to play, prompting Worcester coach Matt Newby to call for a timeout to draw up a potential game-winning reply.

Lamarr Kimble calmly reversed the lead, but a couple of seconds still remained on the game-clock. After taking their turn for a timeout the hosts found their German centre Bennett Koch who just failed to convert from beneath the basket.

“Sometimes you have to be satisfied with an ugly win,” admitted Newby. “Sheffield never went away and made it difficult for us at the end.

“After our timeout we got Lamarr the ball and he did what good players do and created his own shot. They went to Koch on their inbound and we showed resilience at the right time to get the stop.

“It wasn’t our best performance but we’ve managed to grind out a victory against one of the league’s top-five teams.”

A back-and-forth start to the evening saw a 10-10 tie after six minutes had elapsed. Micah Elan stepped off the bench to score on his opening touch and Elijah Burns similarly sparked in his initial moments providing assists for Maarten Bouwknecht and Jordan Williams.

Burns swiped the ball out of Koch’s hands to set up a Josh McSwiggan triple in his first game back from injury and a 22-15 Wolves lead as the second quarter began.

The visitors’ half-time control wavered as they adjusted to Bouwknecht’s absence from the court after accumulating three pre-interval fouls. A quick-fire spell of long-distance success hauled Sharks back into contention, drawing level at 48-48 by midway through the third quarter.

It would take until the fifth minute of the last period for Worcester to connect from the field, with the scoreboard level once more at 62-62. Kimble and Bouwknecht fired in from the outside to match Sheffield’s sharpshooters ahead of the thrilling finale.

Kimble, Bouwknecht and Burns provided a 15,14,13 points scoring punch, with Williams tallying 11.

Wolves are on the road again this Sunday 14 March (5pm) when they put their 9-9 win-loss record up against bottom of the table Glasgow Rocks’  2-14 return.

“Sunday won’t be an easy game,” said Newby. “Glasgow might be at the bottom of the league but they play with spirit and pride, particularly on their home court.

“They’ll no doubt take a few scalps before the season ends so we have to make sure we’re not one of them.”