Sheffield Arena to Host Sharks & Heat
The Sheffield Sharks and Guildford Heat will both be looking
to win the season's series between the teams when they meet
at Sheffield Arena on Wednesday evening.
In the two previous games the victory has gone to the away
team on both occasions, so the Heat will be hoping that trend
continues as they travel to Yorkshire looking to repeat their
68-81 win in January. Tony Dorsey (22 points & 10 rebounds)
and Mike Martin (15 points & 11 rebounds) each had a double-double
for the Heat in that game.
The Sharks were the first team to beat the Heat when, at
The Spectrum in October, they won 82-77 behind 19 points from
Justice Graham.
Sharks' coach Pete Scantlebury expects a tough game on Wednesday
as his side look to put back-to- back defeats behind them,
"It's a tough one for us, they beat London comfortably
on Sunday, but it would be a great win if we could get it,
and would erase Saturday's defeat from our minds. We really
need to push on for a good play-off spot now.
"Tony Dorsey and Mike Martin are the two guys who have
hurt us in the past. EJ Harrison also seems to be playing
well, so we need to keep him quiet."
Sharks went down 78-65 at the struggling Jelson Homes Leicester
Riders on Saturday, leaving Scantlebury a disappointed man,
"It was very disappointing. We just didn't come out
in the first half. I thought we'd turned the corner as we'd
played better over the last few weeks, but we were back to
our bad old ways. We started very slowly, and once they say
saw that, it gave them confidence. We were better in the second
half, and maybe the players were over-confident in the first
because Riders hadn't won for a while, but there's no point
starting to play when you're already 18 down."
Heat coach Paul James is looking forward to playing in front
of a large crowd at Sheffield Arena, and believes that those
are the conditions in which his team performs best,
"It's nice to be playing in the arena, we've played
our best games in the bigger venues this season, whether it's
been in Europe or at Newcastle and Glasgow. It's a big, wide-open
court, and that suits us.
"They've not had the kind of season they are used to,
and their side have made mistakes that they aren't accustomed
to.
"I'm sure Pete's been frustrated, but I'm also sure
he'll continue to battle until they get it right. They are
a team who can beat anyone on their day, and if they get it
together as a unit they can be dangerous. We need to get back
on track and we want to progress. We need to work hard on
defence and continue the progress we made against Capital
on Sunday."
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