Sunday 22 February 2015 Glasgow Rocks 89-60 Worcester Wolves

Worcester Wolves have slipped down to third-place in the British Basketball League, behind Newcastle Eagles and Leicester Riders, after being soundly beaten at Glasgow Rocks on Sunday.

Wolves fell prey to a barrage of three-pointers, conceding six in the first-half alone, going 30-49 behind by the interval, with the deficit further widening to 60-89 by the end of the match.

After triumphing in a low-scoring encounter last weekend against Durham, Worcester’s coach Paul James expressed surprise that his team’s defense could have become so porous in such a short space of time, saying: “It’s a long journey up here and we seemed to sleepwalk off the bus, struggling from the start. Rocks shot the ball well and whatever we did to try to counter them, they still found ways to get open. We made a lot of uncharacteristic errors. Once we fell behind, we found it hard to get back in the match.”

Triples for Glasgow guards Tayo Ogedengbe and Reggie Middleton set the early tone as their side moved 12-5 ahead. Player-coach Sterling Davis stole the ball from Wolves’ Chavis Holmes, setting up a three-pointer for Danny Huffor. Huffor was on target again from distance to help Rocks to a 22-15 first quarter lead.

Former Wolves’ favourite Tommy Freeman assisted Davis to begin the second period scoring, and opened his own account a few moments later. After four minutes had elapsed, the advantage had accelerated to 34-17. Robert Thurman was the only Worcester man to tally more than a single basket before the break, but even his threat was subdued once he picked up his third foul when bustling into Freeman.

Thurman was indeed forced off the court when whistled for his fourth offence shortly into the second half. There was success of a sort for Wolves when the third quarter concluded with their hosts having moved just a point further ahead at 64-44.

However, Rocks’ dominance returned in the final ten minutes. Their homegrown reserve guard pairing of Dale Grieve and Johnny Bunyan got in on the act as they both connected from beyond the arc. The latter even slotted home a rare three foul shots, awarded after he was impeded by Holmes. By contrast, Wolves could muster just a couple of successes from the field across the entire quarter.

James acknowledged that there is work to be done before Wolves’ next outing, at the University of Worcester Arena, this Friday, versus Sheffield Sharks, adding: “Today was a bad day at the office. A few guys are not playing at the top of their games right now. There is a lot for us all to consider before we face Sheffield.”