Sharks 92-73 Giants

The Manchester Giants went swimming with the Sharks tonight as they traveled away to the city of steel to face their trans pennine adversaries the Sheffield Sharks. 

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Manchester were looking to bounce back from their derby day loss just two days prior whilst Sheffield were looking to continue their winning ways after a convincing win away at Plymouth. This was also the first time each team had met each other this season and a win tonight from either would put them in good stead for the head to head results. A potentially pivotal head to head to win for each team's playoff hopes. 

Sadly though, it was Sheffield who took tonight's spoils of war as they bested the Giants who were left stranded in open waters as they fell 92-73. The pivotal aspect of tonight's game was efficiency. 

Sheffield hit 53% of their shots from the field and even 50% from three. Manchester in comparison shot 37% from the field and 24% from three. Whilst they might have lost in the efficiency bracket there were some positives to take from Manchester’s 72 points scored tonight. The main one being a 100% conversion rate from the charity stripe. A certain aspect they have improved on from their last game after making 77% from the game before. The Giants were also impressive in the rebounding numbers from tonight’s game. 37 in total and even 12 of those being off the offensive glass. A true achilles heel of the Giants game all season is slowly starting to see improvements. An improvement that coach Semonian and his assistant Paul Cantwell have instilled in the Giants roster. 

There were also some impressive individual performances from the Giants tonight. A bright spot was Darius McNeill. A season high of 19 points from the American guard on 47% from the field. The former California Golden Bear also tallied 6 rebounds to his statline showing coach Semonian that he can contribute at both ends of the floor. 

Nick Stampley also managed an all round solid statline. A near double double for the undersized forward as he racked up 6 points and 7 rebounds after being given the starting role for tonight's game in sheffield. The Troy Trojan alumni came off the bench 2 nights ago and has given coach Semonian something to think about when choosing his starting five with consistently solid outings night after night. 

The Giants will have another chance to break their losing streak as they head north east to face the Newcastle Eagles. With both teams coming off the back of losses in their respective fixtures it will be all to play for in the Toon. Tip off is on November 10th at 8:00pm. The game will be available to stream via YouTube on the British Basketball League’s respective channel. 

All highlights for the Giants trip to the shark tank will be available to view below: