IT was all about those close encounters from the perspective of Cheshire Phoenix.
A busy spell opened with Ben Thomas’ side gaining a 93-90 overtime victory during their derby away day at Manchester.
However, just two days later, it was Sheffield Sharks who came out on top 86-84 in another tight match-up.
Turning to the derby victory first and Manchester were aiming to stretch their impressive winning run to four matches.
Cheshire went into the clash on the back of their victory away to Liverpool.
The first half belonged to Manchester and they opened the scoring via Duke Shelton.
Phoenix were able to respond quickly to this as skipper Skylar White drained a three-pointer, while a 10-2 run saw the visitors move 13-6 ahead.
However, this proved to be the cue for Manchester to supply a response and they went on a 14-point scoring run of their own to take the initiative.
Leading the charge were Keon Thompson and Kaiyem Cleary, as Manchester went 20-13 ahead and this advantage became 27-15 at the conclusion of the first quarter.
Manchester then maintained their momentum when the second quarter got underway, with Thompson sparking an 8-0 run.
At the midway point, Cheshire were down 47-32.
Down they may have been, but the Phoenix were by no means out and they found their feet in the third quarter.
Nazir Williams’ hit 14 points in the quarter alone and this helped Cheshire to turn a 15-point deficit into a five-point advantage.
Manchester produced a fightback of their own early in the fourth quarter thanks to a pair of rapid three-pointers from Jonathan Brown.
That cut the deficit to just a solitary point, while a Thompson score gave Manchester the lead again at 69-67.
There then followed a fierce battle, with the teams trading scores and the lead.
Brandon Mitchell-Day made sure of a free throw in the last minute to make it 79-79 and send the match into overtime.
Crucially, Cheshire built-up an eight-point advantage in the additional time and they would eventually see out their victory.
Nazir Williams finished with a game-leading 35 points for Phoenix, backed up by 16 from Isiah Gray, while Jo’el Emanuel and White supplied 12 points apiece.
Overtime was also required as Phoenix were pipped by two points during their trip to Sheffield.
Leading the way for Cheshire were 18-point returns from Ryker Cisarik and Gray. Williams contributed 16 points, with 14 going the way of Jordan Hinds.
Share