A SLOW start for the usually high-energy Cheshire Jets provided an early-warning that the first leg of the BBL Cup semi-final may not end happily at the Northgate Arena tonight.

The buzz among the crowd was the inclusion in the Jets' matchday squad of new signing Jason Killeen, a 6ft 11ins Irish centre drafted in to replace Matt Schneck.

But having just flown in yesterday, the big man was not match ready and played only seven minutes as the Jets relied once more on veteran Calvin Davis to fill the gap.

Missing players and match fitness were not the cause of the Jets downfall however. It was their failure to win the physical battle and take command on the rebounds that ultimately cost them.

They were not helped by a set of match officials who seemed keen to penalise the Jets at every opportunity in both keys, nevertheless this looked a far cry from the team of last week for whom Quemont Greer was dominant on the boards with Jeremy Bell and Colin O'Reilly chipping in from outside the arc.

The Sheffield Sharks came with their familiar weapons - Ryan Patton and Steve Dagostino from distance and Atiba Lyons, Olu Babalola and Mike Tuck crashing through on the inside.

But the Jets never dealt with the threat and as a result, never once led at all in the 40 minutes despite Bell's 26-point haul and 22 from Greer.

They made some good plays when they did get the ball and stole a number of times, but panicky shooting from distance and a general lack of urgency sends them into Friday's second leg at Sheffield with a 22-point deficit to overcome.

"It's a big loss and we were well beaten on the night, " said Jets head coach Paul Smith. "We didn't play well, they did, but there's still 40 minutes left. We've been in bigger holes than this with only a few minutes left and got ourselves out of it so there's still a long way to go.

"We're a bit down at the moment but we'll bounce back tomorrow and we'll prepare for Sheffield to try and get this back.

"We got killed on the boards and that's a big part of basketball. You're lucky to only lose by 20 when you get beat by that many on the boards.

"Obviously we're the underdogs right now but it's definitely do-able. It's going to be tough but it's only five points a quarter really and we've been there and won a half by 20 so we can do it, but if we play like that, forget it.

"We've got to bring a different mentality on Friday."