Sheffield Sharks 75–66 Worcester Wolves

In December Worcester Wolves eked out a tough win at Sheffield Sharks to progress through to the BBL Cup Final, but on Sunday were unable to repeat their heroics at the same stage of the BBL Trophy, against the same opponents.

Sheffield’s 75-66 success, coupled with last Wednesday’s 76-76 first-leg tie in Worcester, sends them through to March’s Trophy Final in Glasgow 161-152 on aggregate.

With Dallin Bachynski sitting out his fifth game in a row, Wolves faced a height disadvantage that they were unable to overcome. By early in the second quarter their hosts had posted double the points at 34-17 and had already stacked up nearly treble the rebounds at 17-6.

Though rallying after half-time to draw the scores closer, sufficient damage had been done to leave too big a hill to climb.

Sheffield had blitzed to a 14-4 lead by midway through the initial quarter before a couple of Alex Navajas scores aided a 14-13 revival.

But another Sharks burst soon extended matters back out to 23-15. On numerous occasions Sheffield were allowed second, and even third, chance shot attempts after scooping up offensive rebounds.

A handful of points from Trayvon Palmer, George Beamon and Brandon Parrish were the only contribution to the Worcester side of the scoreboard as they struggled to a 31-47 half-time deficit.

Three baskets and two made free throws for Michael Ojo as the third period expired trimmed Sheffield’s advantage to 60-53 and gave a flicker of hope to a large turnout of travelling supporters.

But any dreams of victory were cruelly dashed by a series of unopposed drives to the hoop from Sharks’ guard duo Chris Alexander and Edgar McKnight and ongoing inside dominance by their big men.

In a closely-refereed match, Wolves’ were whistled for their third technical foul in the final minute of the evening to put the lid on a disappointing defeat.

Beamon top-scored with 21 points. Navajas tallied 13 points, followed by 11 for Ojo.

Coach Paul James expressed his disappointment, saying: “It was one of those games where a lot didn’t go our way. The way the game was officiated played into Sheffield’s hands more than ours. It just wasn’t our day.”

Asked about the early disparity in rebounding, James responded: “Just as last week, we were without our leading rebounder – 15 points and 10 boards a game missing – that’s always going to be a tough task.”

Wolves will face a quick double of matches next weekend. On Friday 16 February they welcome Glasgow Rocks to the University of Worcester Arena (7.30). On Saturday (7.30) they make the short trip down the M5 to face Bristol Flyers in a re-arranged fixture. Tickets for the home fixture against Glasgow Rocks are available here.

“These are two very important games for us. We need to bounce back from today, ready for another challenging weekend,” added James.

Match report by Colin Taylor

Image credit Razorlight Imagery