Plymouth Raiders beat off resilient Sharks

Marjon Plymouth Raiders overcame key injuries to bounce back in the BBL Championship with a workmanlike win over Sheffield Sharks at the Pavilions yesterday.

Raiders' starting power-forward and captain Anthony Rowe did not play after turning his left ankle in Saturday's defeat at Worcester Wolves, while back-up point-guard Anthony Martin sat out Saturday's 100-80 loss with a suspected broken rib.

Martin tried to play yesterday but was clearly not himself in a forgettable six minute cameo.

Coach Gavin Love inserted Jamal Williams into Raiders' starting line-up in Rowe's spot and Williams finished with four points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal in 23 intelligent minutes.

Yes, two turnovers crept in when his game-legs started to desert him through a lack of fitness.

But Williams' on-the-ball defence was great.

The 6ft 5in forward is too big too back down and too tough to shoot over. However, his lack of footwork defensively can let him down.

Raiders boss Love said: "I thought Jamal was excellent defensively and rebounding the ball, and was smart. He was really, really solid. I was glad he was able to step in.

"Jamal's gone from zero to starting-five, but that shows you the depth we have. Everyone's good here this year, they just need the opportunity."

Williams said: "I felt I played good defence for the most part. I struggled a bit in the second half, but that was mainly because I was little tired and not used to playing so much.

"We got off to a good start before we struggled in the middle of the game, but it was a good game to bounce back in after an ugly loss on Saturday night."

Raiders produced their best basketball in the first quarter and, on the back of it, built their biggest lead of the contest at the start of the second.

They led by as many as 16, 27-11 on guard Jeremy Bell's driving lay-up.

Bell had eight points in Raiders' early burst supported by six points from forward Lehmon Colbert, five from guard James Jones and four points from centre Paul Williams.

The fact that four scorers fuelled the crucial spell underlines how well balanced it was.

Sharks never pulled within fewer than three the rest of the way and never led.

Guard Jimmy Langhurst, who carried lopsided Sharks with a game-high 31 points, scored inside to cut the gap to four points, 68-64 early in the final frame.

But whenever Atiba Lyons' visitors asked Raiders a question yesterday, Love's team had the right answer.

It wasn't spectacular like the last few weeks at the Pavilions, but it was like when I cook dinner for Mrs Bryant, good enough and Raiders always held fifth gear in reserve.

Paul Williams, who got through a ton of work with a team-high 25 points and game-high 18 rebounds, said: "It was important we bounced back. Saturday was a tough loss to take, but we can't go back in time.

"We had to look forward and make sure our minds weren't somewhere else."

Love said: "Paul had a monster game. He blocked shots, he rebounded and ruled inside and dominated basically."

Raiders' winning 10-2 run in the middle of the fourth – which rebuilt the gap decisively to 12, 78-66 – typified their blue-collar effort yesterday.

Sharks posed a problem and Raiders just went back to work.

Paul Williams sparked it with a second-chance basket off Colbert's miss inside and attracted the foul from Sharks' Mike Tuck to convert the extra point from the foul line to make it 71-64 inside the final seven minutes.

Bell tried to score inside and missed, but Jones was active and grabbed the offensive board and scored to extend the gap back to nine, 73-64.

Paul Williams added another second-chance bucket inside before Ojo capped the streak with a three from the right wing.

Ojo had half a second to get his shot away, before a desperate Sharks defender was able to shut him down, but it was long enough for the quick-release king, who finished 2/3 from the three-point arc.

Ojo has now hit a deadly 12/16 threes in Raiders' last three contests.

Love said: "Mike hit some big shots today, just as he does. He's a fantastic three-point shooter and I'm really impressed with him."

Ojo arguably completed the play of the day on the buzzer to close the third quarter.

The moment encapsulated Sharks' effort – promising but ultimately disappointing.

Centre Justin Dobbins scored inside to cut Raiders' lead to three points, 59-56 – as close as Sharks had been.

But just when it looked like game-on in the fourth, Sharks, with only 2.3 seconds left in the third and the ball on their own baseline, inbounded carelessly to a poaching Ojo, who intercepted the pass on the right wing and got his shot off from the right wing just before the buzzer.

The horn sounded as Ojo's effort beautifully caught all net to make it 64-56 heading into the fourth.

Love added afterwards: "I was really happy with how we started the game. We came out the blocks well after a very tough game on Saturday night.

"There was a definitely a fatigue factor with us today, but that's something you have to contend with in this league."

Raiders fans had their first extended look at Jamal Williams, who joined the club late this season on December 10 to provide cover off the bench.

It was good to see Love have confidence in the 25-year-old Canadian and start him in Rowe's absence.

Too many coaches in sport nervously overhaul their line-ups – and in my opinion ask for trouble – when change is forced upon them by injury or suspension

If you have the option, I believe in keeping things simple and limiting upheaval in such circumstances.

Love and Raiders ultimately did that yesterday, unlike Sharks, who for a crazy spell had 6ft 6in forward Olu Babalola, who is built like a bull, guarding 6ft Bell at times on the perimeter yesterday.

Have IQs dropped sharply in South Yorkshire lately?

Bell simply blew by his much bigger man on the right wing and, with no Shark reading the mismatch, converted at a wide open rim to make it 13-6 and then 15-8 in the first.

Paul Williams, who left Sharks last summer, said: "Sheffield realised they couldn't guard us man-to-man and we took a tremendous lead, so they decided to go to a zone (on defence).

"I wouldn't say it took us out of our rhythm, but it made us think and that helped them, so they stayed with that throughout the game.

"It was good coaching by them, but we made big plays and prevailed."

Jamal Williams added of his start: "The circumstances were unfortunate, but it felt good to get more playing time.

"I'm just here to help the team this season, but it was an opportunity for me to improve my status today. I enjoyed it. It's always good to play.

"It's a great atmosphere here at the Pavilions.

"I had played here before when I was at Mersey Tigers last season and it's always a tough place to play, so I've been on the receiving end of it. Now I'm on the good end!"

Good for Raiders too.

STATS

Points: Raiders: P Williams 25 (12/15 Field-Goals), Bell 15 (6/19), Jones 14 (6/11), Ojo 13 (3/9), Colbert 13 (5/14), J Williams 4 (2/3); Sheffield: Langhurst 31 (13/23), Tuck 20 (9/15), Dobbins 13 (5/11)

Leading rebounder: Raiders: P Williams 18; Sheffield: Tuck 12

Leader in assists: Raiders: Jones 5; Sheffield: Tuck 3

Field-Goal Percentage: Raiders: 47 per cent (34/73 attempts); Sheffield: 44 per cent (33/75)

Three-Point Percentage: Raiders: 42 per cent (5/12 attempts); Sheffield: 25 per cent (3/11)

Free-Throw Percentage: Raiders: 85 per cent (11/13 attempts); Milton Sheffield: 69 per cent (9/13)

Total rebounds: Raiders 44 Sheffield 39

Offensive rebounds: Raiders 15 Sheffield 11

Turnovers: Raiders 15 Sheffield 15

Fast break points: Raiders 12 Sheffield 6

Biggest lead: Raiders 16 Sheffield 0

Points in the paint: Raiders 44 Sheffield 36

Points off the bench: Raiders 13 Sheffield 2