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The Sheffield Sharks continued their sparkling form, and their
build-up to the BBL Championship Playoffs, as they overcame
the third-placed Kularoos Plymouth Raiders by 78-73 at the
English Institute of Sport.
Sheffield's fifth consecutive win, and their first over the
Raiders this season, was inspired by Shelby Chaney's 21
points, 11 rebounds, and 4 blocks; whilst Atiba Lyons added 19
points. Drew Lasker led the Raiders with 20 points, with
Gaylon Moore adding 15 points and 16 boards.
The Raiders had the better of the early exchanges and led
12-15, before the Sharks scored the last 6 points of the first
quarter to take an 18-15 lead with Alto Virgil scoring the
last basket in that run.
The teams stayed close at 22-20 in the second until Lyons' 8
points and Chaney's 6 were influential in an 18-8 burst that
gave the hosts a comfortable 40-28 lead. The Raiders chipped
into that and when Gavin Love hit a three-pointer on the
half-time buzzer, they were still in the game at 42-34.
The Raiders tied the game immediately in the third after a
10-2 tear made it 44-44. They took the lead with two Anthony
Martin free-throws and held it until 49-52, when the Sharks
posted an 8-0 push including triples from Anthony Virgil and
Nathan Niesler. The Sharks led 57-52 going into the fourth
quarter.
The Raiders would snatch the lead back as DeAntoine Beasley
scored 6 straight points as part of a 9-0 run that made the
score 67-70. However, Chaney and Lyons checked back into the
game and had an immediate impact as the Sharks responded 9-0,
and took the lead on a Chaney score. When Chaney blocked
Lasker before scoring a free-throw with 21 seconds left, the
game was settled.
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