Sharks keep title hopes alive with overtime win

SHEFFIELD Sharks kept within touching distance of BBL Championship leaders Newcastle Eagles with an overtime defeat of Everton Tigers on Monday night.

The Sharks led for most of the game but a fourth quarter comeback from the Merseyside-club forced an extra period before the home team prevailed 110-102.

Defeat to the Eagles seven days ago saw the Sharks drop off the top spot, but a determined performance saw the Sharks bounce back at the English Institute of Sport to pull two points behind with a game in hand.

Mike Cook led the way for the Sharks, shooting 36, with Mike Tuck and Matt Gorman bagging 25 and 18 respectively as the Sheffield outfit established a 16 point lead going into the final quarter.

But the Tigers had ended a four game losing streak against Worthing Thunder on Saturday and were not ready to admit defeat, fighting back to 93-93 courtesy of 31 from Trey Moore and 25 from Olu Babalola.

Babalola's accuracy in front of the basket handed the Tigers a four point lead midway through overtime but the Sharks raced back with a 13-1 run to seal the crucial win.