National League 1st Division North
Rhinos were looking to extend their three game unbeaten start to the season against a strong Sheffield team with surprisingly only two wins from their five games so far.
Sheffield brought a full strength squad from Yorkshire, whilst Rhinos had Mark Fosbrook and Great Britain power forward Simon Munn missing.
Last week Munn had won the Male Individual Achievement Award at the British Wheelchair Sports Awards for being named in the All Star team at the European Championships held in Germany back in September, as he helped guide GB to a Silver Medal and a place in next years Paralympic Games.
Rhinos started brightly going 6 – 2 up in the first two minutes thanks to baskets from Fred Howley, Kyle Marsh, and Matt Byrne. Jill Fox then scored twice for Sheffield to bring the scores level at 6 – 6.
The teams exchanged baskets before Rhinos opened up another four point lead at 12 – 8.
This saw the introduction of Colin Price for Sheffield, who recently announced his retirement from international basketball with over 300 caps for GB to his name, having taken part in five Paralympics and six World Championships.
He immediately got his name on the score sheet as Sheffield pulled level at 12 – 12. Both teams scored once more leaving the score at 14 – 14 at the end of the quarter.
Rhinos were not happy with their first quarter performance but were encouraged by the score and knew that if they were to tighten up their defence and take better care of the ball in offence, they would be able to open up a lead.
The opposite happened. Their defence continued to allow Sheffield’s’ shooters too much room and the offence struggled to cope with Sheffield pushing out on defence which forced The Rhinos into a series of turnovers.
Rhinos managed only two baskets in the period which gave Sheffield a lead of 28 – 19 going into half-time.
After some strong words from Coach Sinclair Thomas during the break, Rhinos needed to start the 3rd quarter well to get back into this game.
Again it didn’t happen. Sheffield scored ten points in the first three minutes without reply giving them a nineteen point lead.
A time-out was called by Rhinos to re-iterate what was said at half-time and this time it did have some effect.
Rhinos went on a 10 – 0 run, thanks to six points from Marsh, as they closed down better on defence and started to find some form on offence.
Although Sheffield won the quarter, it was Rhinos who went into the final period on a high knowing they were still in the game with the score at 44 - 31.
The Rhinos scored the first two baskets of the 4th quarter to close the gap to nine points and a come back seemed like it could well be a possibility.
The teams then traded baskets for the next four minutes, but with the gap still nine points and time running out, Rhinos started to rush and the turnovers crept back into their game enabling Sheffield to regain their control and take the game 62 – 44.
Scorers:
Rhinos: Howley 20, Marsh 10, Peasley 8, Byrne 4, Thomas 2.
Steelers: Price 20, Hayes 12, Bramley 8, Owen 8, Hudson 6, Fox 4, Buttery 4.
The Rhinos have two games next weekend away to Sharks in Newcastle on Saturday, before the return fixture against Sheffield on Sunday.
There will have to be a marked improvement from this performance if they are to get back on the winning trail.
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