The Sheffield Sharks overturned a 15 point deficit from the first leg as they defeated the Glasgow Rocks 73-94 at Kelvin Hall on Monday evening giving the visitors a 156-162 aggregate result over the two legs.
With the Rocks leading 83-68 from the first leg in Sheffield, both sides traded baskets throughout the majority of the first two quarters, but the visitors bagged the final 10 points of the first half to lead 32-42 heading into the second half.
The Rocks kept themselves in the game in the third quarter as the sides traded baskets and the Sharks were able to increase their lead by a point to 48-59 heading into the final stanza, but in the final quarter back-to-back three-pointers from Ryan Patton and nine points from Olu Babalola gave the Sharks the lead on the night at 55-76, as well as the lead on aggregate for the first time in the contest with 6:05 remaining in the game.
A 10-3 run from the Sharks extended their lead to 65-88 with less than a minute remaining and despite three pointers from EJ Harrison and Moses Mubarak, the Sharks held on to secure the victory on the night, and on aggregate, from the foul-line.
The Sharks will now face the Newcastle Eagles in the semi-finals while the other semi-final sees the BBL Champions Mersey Tigers facing the Cheshire Jets in the semis
Elsewhere the treble chasing Mersey Tigers had to work their socks off to finally shrug off a gutsy eighth seed Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders in a titanic tussle. Leading by three points from the first leg, Tigers watched their lead slip away at certain moments but only ever by a couple of points and they finished more strongly to progress 181-176 on aggregate.
Nate Reinking led the Mersey scoring with 25 points but it was James Jones who made the difference during crunch time with a dagger triple and then icy calm from the line to help complete a 92-90 win on the night.
BBL Playoff Semi-Finals
Newcastle Eagles vs. Sheffield Sharks
Mersey Tigers vs. Cheshire Jets
John Hobbs for TalkBasket.net
