Timmins ties Sharks rebound record

Sam Timmins has written his name into the Southland Sharks record books and in the process, he has highlighted just how important he is to the Sharks’ hopes of pushing for NBL title this year.

Southland produced an important come-from-behind 83-71 victory over the Nelson Giants in Invercargill on Saturday night.

In the process, Timmins tied the Sharks record for most rebounds in a game.

His 22 rebounds on Saturday night against the Giants joined the 22 rebounds Grant Anticevich latched onto in June 2023 when the Sharks played the Taranaki Airs.

If there was any doubt about how important Tall Black Timmins is to this team, Saturday night cleared that up.

On top of his 22 rebounds was a 22-point haul, as he helped carry an undermanned Sharks team to a victory that puts them one step closer to securing the all-important second spot in the competition standings.

The Sharks were again missing Max Darling on Saturday night, who appears likely to miss the remainder of the season through his ongoing calf injury.

Tukaha Cooper also remains sidelined with an ankle injury, while American import Keylan Boone tweaked his ankle on the morning of the game and also missed Saturday night’s fixture.

To add to that, Will Leger sat out the game with a knee niggle.

The Sharks found themselves 51-44 down at halftime, before digging deep in the second half to produce a quality win.

Southland limited the Giants to just 20 points in the second half to bank the 83-71 victory.

With so many players sidelined through injury, a lot fell on the shoulders of the starting five of Timmins, Caleb Asberry, Brayden Inger, Rylan Jones, and Tobias Cameron.

When Cameron found himself in foul trouble, it meant Quake Webster was also required to play an important role, delivering 17 important minutes from the bench for Southland.

The Sharks will be back home at Stadium Southland for their next NBL fixture against the Hawks at 4pm on Saturday.

They will then finish the round-robin with an away fixture against the Wellington Saints on July 25.

The hope will be that Southland will then return home to Invercargill to host a semifinal fixture.