Sheffield Sharks...107Plymouth Raiders...84

MATT HILLEARY was conspicuous by his absence at Sheffield Sharks.

Plymouth Raiders' starting small-forward did not travel to South Yorkshire after spraining an ankle in training on January 21.

It has now ruled him out of three BBL Championship contests, which Raiders have all lost.

Coach Gary Stronach's team have, in all, lost four games on the bounce and have slid to 5-14 in 11th spot in the BBL Championship.

Everton Tigers currently set the pace at 10-9, in the eighth and final play-off spot in the league, five wins clear of Raiders.

If that were to remain the bar for eighth place (10-9 translates to a 19-17 final record), Raiders would have to go 14-3 in their remaining 17 games to clinch it.

True, that is all hypothetical, but it showcases the task now facing Raiders, who have gone off the boil after a four-game winning streak was effectively halted by a 17-day break in their schedule in January.

This weekend Raiders play back-to-back at Worcester Wolves on Saturday (7pm) and against Essex Pirates at the Pavilions on Sunday (4pm).

They hope to welcome back Hilleary, who is averaging 12.1 points and 7.6 rebounds per game this season.

At 6ft 8in, Raiders badly miss Hilleary's height and muscle, which coach Gary Stronach sometimes switches inside to centre on defence if the leaner Anthony Rowe is mis-matched against a beast.

"The guys were asking me when will Matt be back after Friday's game," said Stronach. "He's a massive miss, just with his physical size.

"He would have helped out a lot at Sheffield. Matt brings 12 points and seven rebounds to the table.

Bbut it's what else he brings as well – he changes opponents' shots on defence for us."

At the English Institute of Sport on Friday night, Raiders led narrowly by four, 31-27 early in the second frame, but trailed embarrassingly by as many as 31, 82-51 in the third.

Raiders were coming off a similarly one-sided, 96-80 defeat at defending champions Newcastle Eagles, on Tyneside on Thursday night.

Friday's loss stopped short of being Raiders' heaviest this season, which remains a 25 point, 97-72 reverse at Cheshire Jets on October 11.

Raiders also conceded a season-high 108 points in a defeat to Milton Keynes Lions on December 13.

Stronach said: "Sheer size and strength in depth beat us. And I think we ran out of gas as well.

"(Sharks centre) Tafari Toney ruled the roost inside and their other big-men were rebounding the ball offensively and creating second-chance opportunities for them.

"We lived with them for 16 minutes, but then they just tore us up."

Sharks edged the first frame 24-20 with 10 points from power-forward Todd Cauthorn.

Raiders hit back in the second quarter with a 11-3 run to lead by four, 31-27 before a 15-2 Sharks tear built a 10 point, 45-35 gap.

Point-guard Ryan Patton scored 10 straight points for Sharks to swell the lead to 17, 59-42 at half-time.

A 16-2 Sharks surge in the third ballooned the gap to 31, 82-51, before Raiders rallied with a 10-2 run to cut it to 23, 84-61 heading into the fourth, which was traded 23-23.

Stronach said: "From being in the game in the middle of the second, they had opened it right up by half-time. We were playing catch-up then, very much like we were in Newcastle."

Stronach added: "We've got to take Thursday and Friday on the chin and prepare for Worcester aand Essex this weekend.

"There are 17 games left to play and a lot of key games against teams around us within those."

Raiders have only three games remaining against clubs currently in the top four.

Sharks player-coach Atiba Lyons fielded all 12 players in his squad on Friday night.

Stronach did likewise and used all the players at his disposal, but he only travelled with nine.

Guards Anthony Martin and Drew Lasker started in his backcourt behind a frontline of small-forward Terry Horton, power-forward Tino Valencia and Rowe.

Guards Allister Gall and Jay Marriott, and forwards Jamie Burchell and James Noel all saw minutes off the bench.

Marriott scored 10 points in 14 minutes and over the two-game road-trip averaged 10.5 points per game, in what must be his most impressive numbers this season.

The BBL's leading scorer, Sharks' shooting-guard Mike Cook, was quiet and finished with only five points in 19 minutes, but forward Mike Tuck picked up the slack off Sharks' bench, scoring 18 points on 7/11 shooting.

Tuck's contribution helped Sharks outgun Raiders 33-16 in points off the bench.

Sharks also punished Raiders 21-8 in points off turnovers.

Sharks shot a blistering 63 per cent from the floor before half-time, including 5/11 three-pointers.

Raiders shot 49 per cent before the interval, but made only 38 per cent thereafter.

Stronach said: "Newcastle and Sheffield were both at full-strength and firing on all cylinders.

"They're both very good teams, there's no doubt about that."

STATS

Points: Raiders: Lasker 19 (8/21 Field-Goals), Rowe 18 (8/15), Valencia 16 (8/12), Martin 13 (3/7), Marriott 10 (4/9), Gall 5 (1/2), Horton 2 (1/7), Noel 1 (0/3); Sheffield: Toney 27 (11/15), Patton 23 (8/16), Tuck 18 (7/11)

Rebounds: Raiders 41; Sheffield 43

Assists: Raiders 18; Sheffield 18

Turnovers: Raiders 15; Sheffield 14

Points Off Turnovers: Raiders 8; Sheffield 21

Points Off Bench: Raiders 16; Sheffield 33

Field-Goal Percentage: Raiders: 43 per cent (33/77 attempts); Sheffield: 54 per cent (40/74)

Three-Point Percentage: Raiders: 35 per cent (6/17 attempts); Sheffield: 27 per cent (6/22)

Free-Throw Percentage: Raiders: 63 per cent (12/19 attempts); Sheffield: 75 per cent (21/28)

OTHER RESULTS

BBL Championship: Everton 91 Milton Keynes 107, Leicester 82 Essex 63, Worcester 90 Glasgow 75, Worthing 100 Sheffield 105, Guildford 87 Leicester 92