Worcester Wolves 75-94 Surrey Scorchers

Worcester Wolves disappointing start to the season continued as they were tumbled out of the BBL Cup by Surrey Scorchers at the University of Worcester Arena on Sunday.

Wolves fell behind early and trailed by 35-49 at the interval. A flicker of a revival during the third quarter was soon extinguished, with the final margin of defeat painfully widening out to 75-94.

With just six players logging significant minutes, a brisk opening would be important. Andrew Bachman scored twice in the first three minutes as the hosts led 6-1.

However, by a couple of minutes later Surrey had drawn level, moving on to close the first quarter ahead at 25-18 on the back of a trio of Worcester turnovers.
Aside from several determined Bachman drives to the hoop, there was little offensive output from Wolves. Scorchers’ guard Quincy Taylor floated up a pass for his compatriot Chaz Rollins to slam home to also highlight Wolves’ defensive woes.

With two minutes remaining in the third quarter a busy series of steals and assists by Jermel Kennedy had closed the gap to 53-60. A Kennedy dunk was announced as Wolves’ 35,000th point since their elevation to the British Basketball League in 2006, but the landmark could scarcely be celebrated amidst the final disheartening score-line.

Bachman led the Worcester scorers with 18 points, but could connect on only one of his five three-point attempts. His team-mates fared no better, totalling just three successes from a sizeable twenty-two attempts.

Coach Paul James offered no excuses for the defeat, saying: “It was all of our own doing. We had plenty of scoring opportunities that we didn’t finish off, leading to easy buckets for Surrey at the other end.”

Asked if there is any news of reinforcements on the way, James replied: “We’re hoping to have something to announce in the next few days. We are certainly in need of more manpower – we have players playing out of position and putting in too many minutes. This has to be addressed.”

Wolves will travel to Glasgow Rocks next Sunday, before returning to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday 18 November to greet Manchester Giants.

For enquiries, please contact: worcesterwolves@worc.ac.uk