Worcester Wolves 83-86 Glasgow Rocks

Worcester Wolves spurned an opportunity to gain ground on third-placed Glasgow Rocks in the British Basketball League on Friday.

A packed crowd at the University of Worcester Arena were left disappointed at seeing Wolves stumble to a last-gasp 83-86 overtime defeat.

Paul James’ side employed suffocating defence to build what could have been a decisive 37-22 half-time lead. However, Wolves’ inability to kill off a plucky opponent saw Rocks whittle away and eventually overturn the advantage.

James expressed his frustration at the loss, saying:

“We did a really nice job in the first half. But we stopped playing tough defence, we allowed way too many offensive rebounds and Rocks started to make their three-pointers.

“They went zero from ten attempts in the first half but we said that sooner or later they’ll start making some. In the end the game went to overtime and became something of a lottery. They made crucial shots and we didn’t.”

Two triples from Trayvon Palmer and one each for Elvisi Dusha and Brandon Parrish helped Worcester into a 19-15 first-quarter lead.

Further Glasgow attacks were repeatedly turned back. It would take until four minutes before half-time for the visitors to score again from the field when their Great Britain forward Keiron Achara finally connected, with his team trailing 18-29.

But by the initial couple of minutes of the second half Rocks had already exceeded their entire second-quarter points total, putting matters at 41-30.

Glasgow’s three-point account was opened by a quick double of successes for Kofi Josephs. It was now Wolves’ turn to stagnate as they clung to a 50-49 edge entering the last period.

A tight quarter ensued. Occasional forays from Palmer and Alex Navajas were Worcester’s only significant offensive input. With just 23 seconds to go Wolves trailed 69-70 before Palmer was fouled when sinking a triple as he fell to the ground.

With the crowd on their feet, his bonus free-throw gave Wolves the upper-hand until Joseph replied to sit everyone back down and agonisingly send the contest into five minutes of extra time.

The back-and-forth continued. By the last minute Worcester trailed 83-84. Achara wisely wound the shot-clock down and converted on its final tick. A desperate Navajas attempt bounced off the rim as time expired.

Palmer and Navajas dominated Wolves scoring with 24 and 20 points respectively.

Wolves are straight back into action at Bristol Flyers on Saturday, before returning to the University of Worcester Arena next Friday, 23 February (tip off 7.30), to host Plymouth Raiders. Tickets available here.

James added: “We will have to do much better at Bristol. We allowed Glasgow to stay in the match and turned the ball over too many times. We have to take greater care of the ball, particularly on rebounds.”

Match report by Colin Taylor

Image credit Razorlight Imagery