B. Braun Sheffield Sharks made it two wins from two in their Championship 2026-27 campaign, beating Leicester Riders 85-75 at the Canon Medical Arena on Sunday. After letting a 14-point lead slip, the Sharks held their nerve in the final quarter to secure the win.
The result moved Sheffield to third in the table, giving them their first 2-0 start to a season since 2013.
The Sharks started strongly, with captain Fahro Alihodzic scoring eight points in the opening quarter, alongside two blocks and a steal. Leicester briefly brought the scores level at 14-14, but Sheffield responded through Lu’cye Patterson and a three-pointer from Daniel Gherezgher to end the quarter with a 30-22 lead.
Sheffield continued their strong start in the second quarter. Baskets from Patterson, Adrian Delph and Alihodzic helped the hosts move 14 points ahead at 39-25. However, Leicester fought back, with Jaylon White and Deante Johnson Jr. leading the charge. The visitors steadily cut the deficit, leaving Sheffield with just a two-point lead at half-time, 43-41.
Leicester carried that momentum into the third quarter, with Callum Lawson helping them draw level at 43-43 before briefly taking the lead. Sheffield responded through Alihodzic, Patterson and Donovan Clay, but neither side could pull away. With Leicester leading 62-60 in the closing seconds, Clay scored to level the game at 62-62 heading into the final quarter.
The Sharks stepped up when it mattered most. Patterson helped Sheffield make a strong start to the fourth, while Alihodzic made his presence felt under the basket. The captain grabbed three consecutive offensive rebounds in one possession before scoring a tip-in dunk to put Sheffield 76-66 ahead with 3:46 remaining.
Leicester refused to give up, and Taryn Todd’s three-pointer cut the gap to six points at 81-75 with just over a minute left. However, Sheffield held firm. Patterson scored from the free-throw line before Alihodzic added two more points from the line to seal the 85-75 victory.
After the game, head coach Atiba Lyons praised his team’s response to Leicester’s defensive changes.
“I felt we did a good job to start and brought a lot of energy. Leicester made a great adjustment; they went to a zone and did some different things to slow us down a bit. But we kept our composure, and for a new team, that’s great to see.”
Alihodzic described the contest as a game of runs and credited his teammates for helping Sheffield close out the win.
“We went up early, by about 14 points, and then they got back into the game. We had to grind it out in the second half, get a little lead and try to protect it until the end. Credit to my teammates; we did a really good job of keeping that gap and finishing strong to get the win.”
With the squad only recently coming together at full strength, Alihodzic said the focus would be on continuing to build the team ahead of their next game. It would be interesting to see if the Sharks can keep up the winning streak against the Caledonia Gladiators this Friday.
Image Credits: Arjun Pandit
