Friday 24 October 2014 Leeds Force 69-98 Worcester Wolves

Worcester Wolves’ Captain Alex Owumi was in blistering form as he led his side to a 98-69 dismissal of British Basketball League newcomers Leeds Force on Friday.

Owumi drained a perfect six of six three-point attempts amongst his 33-point haul, becoming the Wolves’ all-time leader in triples as he took his BBL tally to 169, one more than former forward Daniel Gilbert’s total. Frenchman Remi Dibo was also a threat from distance on the night, sinking four triples.

Leeds stayed in contention for most of the opening half of the encounter, but a 28-15 third-quarter blitz put paid to any hopes of success.

By midway through the first period the Force held a six-point lead at 17-11. Eight consecutive points from Owumi closed the advantage to 22-19. Kalil Irving hit from the corner to level the scores, and then stole the ball to set up the first of Dibo’s long-range conversions. By the end of the period Worcester had surged clear of their hosts at 36-24.

After a couple of minutes of the second quarter Owumi was finally allowed a breather, having already accumulated 18 points, and with his team standing comfortably at 42-29. A burst of action from Leeds’ Croatian forward Branimar Mikulic revived the Force fortunes. A three-pointer; a rebound and basket following a Dibo miss; a three-point play after a Dibo foul, and suddenly the score stood at 44-42.

With Owumi re-introduced to the action, the ship was steadied, bringing about a 52-42 interval lead. His momentum only increased after the break, setting up consecutive scores for Donatas Visockis, and rarely misdirecting any shots of his own. Owumi’s backcourt partner Chavis Holmes added to the Leeds torment with successive steals from Mario Diez, as Worcester stormed to an unassailable 80-57 lead.

The final ten minutes of the evening was an opportunity for last year’s double-winning Wolves to showcase their superiority over their first-year opponents.

Wolves’ next outing will be on Friday 31 October when they host Bristol Flyers at the University of Worcester Arena, in the quarter-finals of the BBL Cup.