Sunday 18 January 2015 Durham Wildcats 84-86 Worcester Wolves

Worcester Wolves successfully began the first stage of their defence of the BBL Trophy they won last March, by taking a hard-fought 86-84 triumph at Durham Wildcats on Sunday.

The day before, Wolves gave up a thirteen-point half-time lead at Bristol Flyers before squeaking a one-point victory. It was a case of deja-vu up in the North-East when Worcester again relinquished a double-digit advantage before holding on at the death.

The game began brightly for the Wildcats when their 6 foot 10 inch centre John Puk grabbed the ball from the tip-off and duly converted. He would also sink his side’s next three baskets. Wolves’ guards Paul Guede and Alex Owumi were both on target from long-range to keep the scores close.

New-signing Dejan Radojevic entered the fray towards the close of the opening quarter to notch his first ever points in a Worcester vest, from foul shots awarded after a tussle with Puk. At the start of the second period Radojevic tallied his first success from the field after hustling to a missed triple from Remi Dibo. By half-time matters were looking relatively comfortable for the visitors with a 42-32 lead.

Owumi maintained his accuracy from distance with a couple of conversions in the third quarter, but Wildcats’ forward Fran Urli did likewise to reduce the arrears to 64-59.

With Wolves’ first-choice centre Robert Thurman still troubled by his recent ankle injury it was left to Radojevic to battle around the basket with his counterpart Puk. In stark contrast to his scoreless debut performance against Bristol, Radojevic now displayed the aggression expected of a near seven-footer. A double of close-range scores either side of a smooth step-back three-pointer kept his team in front at 76-70 with four minutes to play.

Durham guard Chris Jones inspired his team-mates with five quick points and a steal from Owumi, gifting the ball for his backcourt partner Panos Mayindombe to convert and give Wildcats their first lead of the afternoon at 77-76.

As the final minute approached Radojevic bullied his way to a rebound, presenting Chavis Holmes with the opportunity to regain the advantage. At 14 seconds remaining, Urli connected with a triple to leave the outcome still poised at 83-82, before an exchange of free throws finally decided the victors.

Owumi top-scored for Wolves with 22 points, closely followed by Radojevic with 20 points.  Urli and Mayindombe led the way for Durham with 18 points apiece.

Wolves’ Coach Paul James reflected on a hard double-header, saying: “This was the second game of a weekend where we have had to tough out victories. Durham are a side full of shooters so it was always possible that they would get back into the match. Today, and at Bristol, we showed that we can triumph in tight games. The experience will stand us in good stead as we progress down the stretch of the season.”

Asked about the big difference in the displays over the two nights from new-face Dejan Radojevic, James replied: “Dejan learnt from Saturday. He agreed with me that he should become more aggressive. I told him that when we give him the ball he needs to take it straight to the hoop. He made a big contribution today and can only get even better once he integrates more into our system.”

There will be a first chance for home fans to see Radojevic when Wolves return to the University of Worcester Arena this Friday to face Sheffield Sharks.