Worcester Wolves WIN the BBL Trophy Final 83 – 76 Glasgow Rocks

Worcester Wolves 83 (15,38,58) (J. Williams 26, Creekmore 22, Owumi/Taylor 11)
Glasgow Rocks 76 (25,44,55) (Murray 21, Johnson 14, Northern/Urli 11)

Worcester Wolves have won BBL honours for the first time after lifting the BBL Trophy with an 83-76 defeat of Glasgow Rocks in a pulsating final in front of nearly 5,000 fans at the Emirates Arena.

Jamal Williams (pictured) was named MVP after scoring 26 points and igniting the crucial late surge, while Will Creekmore also had a big double-double of 22 points and 15 rebounds.

The Wolves had to dig themselves out of a hole in the second half and showed the kind of character that has seen them gain a reputation for finding ways to win this season.

The Rocks were galvanised from the outset in front of the large crowd and charged into an early 15-9 lead, although Creekmore kept the Wolves ticking over. However, the Rocks pushed on as Gareth Murray’s buzzer-beating triple gave them a double-digit first quarter advantage at 25-15.

Jonny Bunyan’s three-pointer early in the second period ensured that the Rocks maintained their margin, although they went scoreless for three minutes as Creekmore edged the Wolves back into the contest. But, Murray scored two triples in thirty seconds and Wolves were still trailing 44-38 going into the break, after Murray once again converted from long-distance.

An even start to the third period saw little change in the margin until Jamal Williams came alive at the same time as Rocks’ duo Daniel Northern and Fran Urli hit foul trouble.

The momentum then changed, with a burst inspired by Creekmore and Williams putting Worcester in front at 58-55 as they restricted Rocks to just 11 points in the period.

A hail of three-pointers early in the fourth quarter saw the teams going toe-to-toe, as Sterling Davis tied the game for Rocks, only for Kai Williams to respond in kind.

But then the crucial and game-winning run arrived, as Wolves outscored Rocks 11-2, capped by a three-pointer from Jamal Williams which took Worcester into a 75-68 lead heading into the last three minutes.

That spell proved crucial and despite the Rocks briefly getting back to within three points, Creekmore scored a big bucket inside the final minute, before Wolves iced their historic moment from the free-throw line