Sharks despatch wounded Eagles
Westfield Sharks Sheffield progressed to a uni-ball Trophy semi-final meeting with Manchester Giants after despatching Newcastle Eagles 95-74 at the NEC.
Terrell Myers led all scorers on 28 points as Sheffield stepped up their game in the final quarter to secure the win against a Tyneside team whose lack of strength in depth eventually proved their undoing.
For Sheffield coach Chris Finch, surprisingly there was equanimity over his side' performance but a chance post-win to look forward to yet another big day out against his trans-Pennine rivals.
"In the fourth period, we played the defence we wanted to play," said Finch.
"We did that too late because if we'd done it throughout, maybe we'd have had a better lead at half-time. We'll have to face Manchester three times in 14 days and we'll have to play a lot better to beat them."
Sharks, winners in 1998, should truthfully have won more comfortably after compiling an early 9-3 lead, an advantage which they would retain for the entire match, bar a two minute spell at the opening of the second half.
With all five Sheffield starters notching double figure outputs, their side were up 25-20 after the first ten minutes and a 7-0 burst earlier in the subsequent period gave Finch's men a double-digit lead at 32-22.
Ian Whyte, whose form this season has been nothing short of a revelation, bagged eight consecutive Eagles points to lead his team back into the match and when Andrew Mavis and Ralph Blalock hit two treys in the last minute before the mid-way break, Newcastle entered the change of end just 46-44 in arrears.
The pair combined to cap a 0-6 stretch after the re-start, putting their side ahead 48-50 but they led only briefly as Myers and Nate Reinking kept the Sharks just on top in a tight third quarter.
But in the final stages, Sharks backcourt duo earned their wages and then some as Sheffield ran up runs of 6-0 and 8-0 to put the match beyond Craig Lynch's side's reach.
"In the second half, we got our defence going and that in turn got our offense started," said Reinking who ended on a 20 points haul.
"We stopped attacking just before half-time when they switched to a zone and it took us until the second half to pick it up again."
Blalock and Whyte topped the Eagles scoring on 18 with the latter adding 10 rebounds.
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