Worcester Wolves 100–72 Leeds Force

Worcester Wolves celebrated the return of a full-strength roster by easing to a 100-72 win over the British Basketball League’s basement club Leeds Force at the University of Worcester Arena on Friday.

A combination of injuries and international call-ups forced Coach Paul James to juggle resources throughout February, with accordingly middling results. Wolves’ first March fixture saw court-time spread across their whole squad and a half-dozen of those players return double-figure points in a welcome victory.

Worcester held a mere 46-35 lead by half-time, but thumped in an overwhelming 30-12 third quarter to make certain of success.

“We had a decent start, let ourselves down a little in the second quarter, but took control after the break,” confirmed James. “I told everyone that if they played the way I know they can that we would get the win and that everyone could enjoy themselves out there.”

Alex Navajas featured heavily in the early going. After laying on the opening score of the night for Trayvon Palmer he sank a triple of his own but then bizarrely passed the ball towards a startled referee, before sportingly acknowledging his mistake.

George Emms and Dominic Ives delighted in their earlier-than-usual introductions to the action by, in turn, assisting a George Beamon three and a Brandon Parrish tomahawk dunk, rounding out a tidy 22-16 first period advantage.

A spell of sloppy ball-handling allowed Leeds to stay in contention as the first half ended.

It was an entirely different matter once the teams had returned from the locker rooms, with Navajas again the pivotal figure. After securing a couple of baskets for himself he hurled a length-of-the-court pass for Palmer to convert. The Spaniard would rattle in a further ten points in less than two minutes before drawing breath.

A 70-36 score-line at six minutes after the break firmly demonstrated Worcester’s domination of their visitors. Four replacements jumped up from the home bench to see out the third period.

The final quarter saw court-time for rarely-used reserves Zach Noble and Matt Williamson, with the former inking four points onto the scoresheet.

Navajas led Wolves scoring with 20 points, followed by 14 points apiece for Palmer and Parrish. Dallin Bachynski returned from his month-long injury to post 13 points, with Beamon and Michael Ojo each tallying 11.

James praised the performance of his captain, saying; “Alex was again outstanding. He shot the ball well and got others involved. He has been playing really well for us lately and this bodes well for our upcoming games.”

Wolves have a double-bill of away matches next weekend, facing Cheshire Phoenix on Friday 16 March (7.30pm) and Manchester Giants the following Sunday (5pm), before returning to the University of Worcester Arena to host Sheffield Sharks on Friday 23 March.

“We’ve got a tough weekend coming up. It’s been nice to have the chance to try out some combinations and to now go into next week with everyone getting back to fitness, confident and ready to go,” added James.

Match report by Colin Taylor

Image credit Razorlight Imagery