Worcester Wolves 71-68 Sheffield Sharks

Saturday 24 November 2012

A fortnight ago Worcester Wolves thrilled their fans at the University of Worcester when they finally saw off Cheshire after a see-saw contest. On Saturday the Wolves once more found themselves in the middle of a pulsating back and forth tussle with their visitors, this time edging to a 71-68 victory over Sheffield Sharks.

Two weeks ago it was young English forward Kalil Irving who played a starring role for the Wolves. By contrast, on this occasion it was veteran Lithuanian forward Arnas Kazlauskas who was the main man for the home team, piling up a game-high 20 points, including two decisive free throws at the close of the match.

Wolves began the evening at a snail’s pace, allowing Sheffield to score the opening six points and taking nearly three minutes to register a score of their own, a basket by Stan Ocitti. Sheffield were able to shackle the normally fast-starting centre Arturas Masiulis, limiting him to a mere two first-quarter points. Indeed, one further basket from Ocitti was the only Wolves’ score from the field for the rest of a first period that ended 9-16 in favour of the Sharks.

Daniel Belgrave brightened matters for Worcester when floating home a long-range shot to begin the second period, but Sheffield again pulled away following scores from their forward pairing of Olu Babalola and Mike Tuck. By four minutes into the period the deficit had accelerated to 15-28 after a quick six points from ex-Great Britain guard Andrew Bridge and another score from Tuck.

A 7-2 run was enough for Sharks’ coach Atiba Lyons to call a time out to steady matters. However his instructions to his side had little effect as a surge of scoring from Wolves’ playmaker Alex Owumi dragged matters to an even 34-34 with two minutes remaining in the half. A delicate finger-roll gave Owumi the last of his eleven second-quarter points and the Wolves their first lead. Successive baskets from Carlos Fernandez made it 40-34 with a few seconds to go. Babalola then clumsily stepped in the way of Kazlauskas, allowing the Lithuanian to make both resultant free throws as the first half expired.

It was Kazlauskas who began the scoring in the third quarter before seven points in a row from Sheffield guard Micah Williams closed the deficit to 46-43 by midway through the period. Neither side was able to assert control for the remainder of a third quarter that ended at 56-53.

Just as he did at the beginning of the second period, Belgrave once more sank a shot from outside to begin the final period. Again the Sharks refused to be subdued, replying in kind to bring themselves back into the contest at 62-60 with six minutes remaining. A score from Owumi preceded the fourth triple of the night from Kazlauskas and again the margin widened. At 69-65 with a couple of minutes to go, Sharks’ American debutant Demitrius Johnson battled with Kazlauskas under the Wolves basket and was adjudged by the referees to have crossed the line of sportsmanship in his behaviour. Johnson was disqualified from the match, while Kazlauskas was awarded two free throws.

The normally-reliable Lithuanian incredibly fell short on both throws to leave the scoreboard unmoved. A series of nervous misses from both teams then ensued before Williams finally connected with a three-pointer to bring his team to within a single point with 53 seconds to go.

After more wayward shooting and with the game clock winding down, the Wolves held possession. With just eight seconds remaining, Sharks’ guard Zach Gachette clumsily pulled Kazlauskas to the floor to stop the clock. As the large home crowd held their breath, Kazlauskas this time made no mistake from the foul line to move the score to 71-68 and seal the victory.

Wolves coach Paul James was pleased to take the win, especially after losing at London Lions the night before, saying: “It was great to bounce back so quickly from Friday’s defeat at the Lions.” Referring to the performance of Kazlauskas against the Sharks, James commented: “Arnas did a good job. I’ve asked him to be more aggressive offensively, and he did that tonight.”

Kazlauskas top-scored with 20 points, supported by 15 points from Owumi. Stan Ocitti registered a double-double of 14 points and ten rebounds. Williams led the Sheffield scorers with 17 points.

Wolves will be on the road next Sunday afternoon at Plymouth Raiders. The next game at the University of Worcester will be the visit of the high-flying Newcastle Eagles on Saturday 8 December.