Friday 11 April 2014 Worcester Wolves 84-76 Leicester Riders

Worcester Wolves did what they had to do at the University of Worcester Arena on Friday in defeating the reigning British Basketball League champions Leicester Riders, and thereby keeping hold of second-place in the table.

Leicester and, to a lesser extent, Wolves both experimented with their line ups in preparation for the fast-approaching end of season play-offs. Although Wolves’ victory was never in doubt, the performance was at times a little disjointed, with their lead maximising at 20 points before settling down to 84-76 by the final buzzer.

In Worcester’s triumph the night before at London Lions, there was a welcoming spread of scorers throughout the team and this carried over into their return to home court. Riders’ Andrew Sullivan, the captain of Great Britain’s Olympic squad, notched a basket in the opening minute, but it would be a further five minutes before any of his team-mates also troubled the scoreboard. In the meantime, Kai Williams came off the Wolves’ bench to hit a three-pointer, and saw elder brother Jamal do likewise to take the advantage to 15-7.

By the close of the initial quarter the lead had ballooned to 28-14, helped by two more long-distance successes for Williams the younger. One-time Leicester point guard Zaire Taylor thrilled spectators when twirling around his former backup, Connor Washington, for a cheeky lay-up to open the second period. By midway through the period, after Wolves’ reserve guard Disraeli Lufadeju sank a confident shot from the corner, it was time for exasperated Riders’ coach Rob Paternostro to call for a halt to proceedings as he looked up at a 36-19 deficit.

A half-dozen points from Anthony Downing aided a revival of fortunes, reducing the arrears to 40-29 by the end of the half. However, for Worcester, of greater concern than the score was a worrying sharp tumble to the floor by Jamal Williams as he defended the home basket. Unable to rise without assistance, he was forced to hobble to the locker rooms, only seconds before the interval.

Four points for Leicester’s bustling centre Rashad Hassan, and five for Sullivan, had closed the gap to just 44-38 after four minutes of the second half had elapsed. But business-as-usual was restored following consecutive outside successes for Lufadeju and forward Kalil Irving. With Worcester big men Will Creekmore and Stefan Djukic also holding sway on the inside, the advantage had built back up to 63-45 entering the final ten minutes of the evening.

With the outcome seemingly already decided, both coaches spread court time across their squads. Although Hassan revelled in the easing of the defensive pressure to notch an impressive 16 points in the final quarter, support was lacking in other areas, with the game winding down to another Worcester win.

Wolves’ coach Paul James gave his thoughts on the match, saying: “It was kind of a strange game. I’m not sure how much it mattered to Leicester, with them already fixed in fourth place in the table. Having said that, I like what we’re doing right now, with a nice spread of scoring. Zaire has got better and better as the season has gone on at distributing the ball and getting our scorers open, as well as still being able to pick up his own points.”

Asked about the injury to Jamal Williams, James replied: “He’s rolled his ankle. But with rest, and with ice on it, we’re hoping that he’ll have recovered in time for next Wednesday’s match at Sheffield.”

Taylor led the Worcester scorers with 17 points, closely followed by Kai Williams and Creekmore with 16 and 14 points respectively. Djukic tallied ten points and Alex Owumi totalled eight. Taylor bolstered his numbers with a fine 14 assists, as did Creekmore by snatching a rousing 18 rebounds. Hassan led the way for Leicester with 27 points.

The regular season will conclude for the Wolves next week. On Wednesday they travel to third-paced Sheffield Sharks, before returning home to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday to host the BBL Trophy runners-up, Glasgow Rocks. Their final outing before the commencement of the post-season play-offs will be at Surrey United on Saturday.