Sunday 28 December 2014 Worcester Wolves 68-58 Leeds Force

Worcester Wolves will enter 2015 with a record of thirteen wins and just four defeats, after easing past Leeds Force 68-58 on Sunday.

Wolves kept a firm hold on second place in the British Basketball League with a stop-start display against the team that currently lies at the foot of the table.

Both sides seemed held back in the early going. Leeds committed a backcourt violation on their first possession, and failed to get a shot off in the permitted 24 seconds on their next trip down the court. Meanwhile Wolves were guilty of failing to take advantage of several open looks at the basket as they also frittered opportunities.

Entering the second period having only scored a miserly 14 points apiece, matters finally perked up for the hosts with the introduction of Disraeli Lufadeju. A quick-fire five points for the young English guard were followed by a three-pointer for Canadian forward Jamal Williams, pushing Wolves ahead at 24-18. By the close of the first half the lead had widened to 33-25.

At midway through the third period the gap had been maintained at 43-35 after consecutive triples from Worcester captain Alex Owumi. However the next eight points would all go the way of the visitors, tying up the contest.

In a five minute spell either side of the break between the third and fourth quarters Leeds were held scoreless. In the meantime there were long-range successes for Owumi and Lufadeju, providing a healthy 54-43 cushion.

Force guard James McCann eventually broke his side’s barren spell, but garnered little support from his team-mates. Wolves’ Remi Dibo was twice on target to open his scoring account from the field and provide the final highlights of a subdued post-Christmas display.

Worcester Coach Paul James was content with the win, but conceded that his team had laboured to victory, saying; “It was a scrappy, sluggish game. I was pleased with our defensive effort in holding Leeds down to just 58 points, but we could have been a lot slicker offensively. In the end we had just enough in the tank to get the win.”

Williams led the Wolves’ scorers with 18 points. Chavis Holmes impressed by tallying a double-double of statistics, scoring 14 points and gathering 12 rebounds.

Wolves’ first outing of 2015 will be on Sunday 04 January at Plymouth Raiders, followed by a visit from table-toppers the Newcastle Eagles to the University of Worcester Arena, the following Friday, 09 January.

Cover Photo Courtesy of
Olly Jones