2nd November, 2007 Sheffield Sharks 76-85 Team Birmingham Panthers

BBL Championship Match Report

Game details:-

Venue: EIS, Sheffield

Competition:- BBL Championship

Tip-off:- 7.30pm

Quarterscores:- 23-23, 42-48, 55-69

Overtime periods:-

Final result:- 76-85

Officials:- Roger Harrison, Mac Callander, Barry Fenwick

Top Scorers:

Sharks: Parillon 17, Chaney 15, Graham 14

Panthers: Sandell 21, Rivers 13, Paternostro 11

vs.

The Team Birmingham Panthers scored their biggest win yet in the BBL, and their second consecutive league victory, in beating the Sheffield Sharks 76-85 at the English Institute of Sport. The Sharks slipped off the pace at the top of the BBL Championship table after their second home defeat in a row.

Daniel Sandell led the victors with 21 points, supported by Hank Rivers who had a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Steve Parillon led the Sharks with 17, and Shelby Chaney had a double-double of his own with 15 points and 13 boards.

The teams could barely be separated in the early exchanges as the Panthers held the lead at 15-18, before 4 points from Sheffield relieved them of it. The Sharks stayed in front until a three-pointer with the last play of the first stanza knotted the teams at 23.

After the visiting side added the first 4 points of the second, the Sharks went 15-5 behind 9 points from Justice Graham to lead 38-32. However, former Sheffield player Lekan Popoola was instrumental as he scored 4 points to spark a 14-0 response from Birmingham that saw them snatch the lead back at 38-46; Sandell also added 5 points in that spell.

In the third the Sharks narrowed the gap to 48-52 before the Panthers made a 17-4 surge, with Sandell getting the last 6 of those. The Sharks kept in touch as a Steve Parillon triple on the buzzer made it 55-69 going into the decisive period.

Once in the fourth, the Sharks still found themselves down at 59-72 but astonishingly they turned the game on its head as Randy George scored 4 points and a Raymond McKeithan tip-in concluded a 15-2 push that saw them re-gain the lead at 74-73 with 2:54 remaining. However, perhaps characteristic of this game, the Panthers responded immediately as the irrepressible Sandell scored 4 points in a 10-0 reply that settled the game and made the score 74-83.

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