Basketball: Sharks' sights on Wembley

SHEFFIELD SHARKS overwhelmed Greater London Leopards 100-82 at Ponds Forge last night to square their Budweiser Championship play-off quarter-final series 1-1.

Thames Valley Tigers became the first team to book their place at Wembley with a 114-93 victory over Derby Storm last night, winning their series 2-0.

The Sharks are not at Wembley yet, but if they repeat last night's showing in tomorrow night's decisive game, they might justifiably ask to be moved into the Harlem Globetrotters' old dressing-room.

In a display of occasionally breathtaking basketball in the second half, Todd Cauthorn played the captain's role to lead his team with 30 points, including seven three-pointers and eight rebounds. In the first half, Leopards succeeded in keeping Terrell Myers quiet, but at the cost of letting Cauthorn and Travis Conlan run riot.

Cauthorn stepped away from the mayhem under the basket to shoot four three-pointers in his impressive first-half form of 17 points. Myers and Conlan inspired a flurry of steals from the Leopards' wasteful guards as Sheffield scored 14 points from turnovers in the first period.

Conlan also added 11 points to Sheffield's first-half lead of 46-33, ably assisted by Peter Scantlebury, who carved avenues through the Leopards' defence to finish with 17.