Rocks fall short of a Finals spot after Huge effort

Molten BBL Play-Off Semi-Final, second leg
Sheffield Sharks 68 (14,30,52) (Hogg 20, Robinson 17, Brooks 16)
Glasgow Rocks 73 (15,35,55) (Gillis 25, Achara 15, Stephens 10)

Atiba Lyons’ side led by 11 after the first leg, but saw their advantage wiped out in the final quarter as a dramatic finish ensued before the Sharks managed to get over the line despite suffering a 68-73defeat.

Brandon Hogg scored 11 of his 20 points in the first quarter, while Antone Robinson came up with important scores down the stretch to finish with 17 points and 14 rebounds and Jerrold Brooks added 16.

Mike Tuck opened the scoring with a three and the home side led for the majority of the first period, before the Rocks edged ahead in the final minute and began to find their range in the second as they opened up a seven-point advantage following a three from Riley Grabau.

The Rocks would go into the half-time interval with a five-point lead as they cut their overall deficit down to six. However, a trio of three’s from Brooks in an 11-3 start helped Sheffield move ahead by three on the night early in the third.

Warren Gillis scored seven straight on his way to a game-high 25 points in a 9-0 reply to help put the Rocks up 47-41 before their momentum was halted. Hogg landed a 3-pointer on the buzzer as the Sharks halved their deficit to go into the final stanza trailing 52-55, but with an eight-point cushion on aggregate.

A 7-0 run saw the Rocks open up a 10-point lead on the night and a three from Jonny Bunyan followed soon after to tie the encounter on aggregate with the Rocks up 69-58. Bunyan tied the game again to make it 71-60, but the Sharks dug deep down the stretch with a pivotal 6-2 run over the next three minutes before holding on to advance to the Molten BBL Play-Off Final at The O2.