Friday 13 November 2015 Worcester Wolves 76-94 Cheshire Phoenix

Friday the thirteenth proved highly unlucky for Worcester Wolves as they unfortunately crossed the path of a white-hot Cheshire Phoenix.

Wolves stumbled out of the blocks to allow their visitors to race to a 17-33 first quarter lead, and still trailed badly by half-time. The third quarter finally saw Wolves haul the brakes on to make an unlikely comeback seem possible, but then defensive deficiencies once more came to the fore as Cheshire were allowed to pulsate to a 76-94 victory.

Perris Blackwell put forward his by-now-traditional double-double showing, with 15 points and ten rebounds, but apart from 25 points from Jay Couisnard, there were mere scraps contributed from other Worcester players. By contrast, Phoenix had four of their players tallying double-digit scoring, including an incredible 36 points from the undoubted star of the evening, Akeem Ellis.

The match initially looked set for a tight affair with a pattern of neat plays set up for Blackwell to convert. The evening stood at 13-19 after six minutes had elapsed, with Wolves’ coach Paul James calling for a time-out. From the re-start Cheshire guard Jorge Ebanks stole the ball from Couisnard for an easy lay-up. The next possession saw Ellis left wide-open to sink his third three-pointer and the blitz had begun.

A double of baskets for Ebanks earned him a rest on the bench, only for his replacement, Danny Huffor, to take up the slack with five quick points. By midway through the second period the Phoenix advantage had been maintained at 25-41. A series of assists from the exuberant Ellis was followed by a double of personal successes from outside the arc and the lead was stretched to 34-55 by the interval.

The University of Worcester Arena crowd was entertained by a sparkling half-time dance performance set to the tune of Queen’s “I Want to Break Free”. As play resumed it seemed as if the melody could have filtered through to the locker rooms. Within the first thirty seconds of play resuming Wolves had rattled home a trio of baskets while Cheshire had committed consecutive turnovers.

The visitors’ unease continued as they were harassed into further carelessness and successive shot-clock violations. With just over a minute remaining in the third period the once-gaping deficit had been hauled all the way back to 56-60 with home fans now on their feet. However, as if exhausted by their efforts, Wolves’ players once more surrendered space for Cheshire to roam in.

The irrepressible Ellis was freed up to take six points either side of the third and fourth quarters and the contest was no more. Ellis set the seal on his astounding personal display by sinking the last of his stunning seven triples.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A disappointed Paul James said afterwards: “We dug ourselves too big a hole in the first half. We fought back pretty well in the third quarter, but couldn’t sustain the effort. Right now we are soft defensively.”

In relation to Ellis’ outburst of scoring, James replied: “There were too many times when we left him wide open with no one on him and no one running at him. That’s not a smart thing to do when someone is shooting like he was.”

Wolves now travel today (Saturday) to Plymouth Raiders. “We have to pick ourselves up and look to get something out of this weekend,” added James.