Worcester Wolves 116-91 Plymouth Raiders

Friday 14 February 2020

Worcester Wolves showed little love towards Plymouth Raiders during their Valentine’s Day date at the University of Worcester Arena, throwing them to the floor in an overwhelming 116-91 victory.

Plymouth entered Friday’s contest looking for their third win on the bounce, having recently added several big-name signings to their roster. Meanwhile, Wolves were looking to rebound from a disappointing performance at Sheffield Sharks.

It was one of Raiders’ debutants, Matt Scott, who led their scoring with 26 points but he was outgunned by two Worcester men piling up season-high totals, Kofi Josephs who rattled in 31 points and Mark Hughes who accumulated 29.

“Our players are getting more mature game-by-game,” exclaimed Wolves coach Matt Newby. “We had a tough time last week in Sheffield but guys are learning from mistakes.

“Plymouth have a great squad and will come good by playoff time but I’m really pleased that we showed great composure and came together to beat them today.

“A selfless mantra means we can stretch the floor and capitalise on situations when we have the advantage. We have some real firepower on our team.”

Hughes’ effervescence was on display from the outset as he intercepted a lazy pass to open the scoring on his way to eleven first-quarter points.

Plymouth had already been whistled for their fifth foul only four minutes into the evening as they struggled to slow the pace, with resultant Wolves’ free-throws allowing them to take a 22-20 edge into the second period.

Josephs was the man with the hot hand when the match resumed, floating in his first  three-pointer and then profiting from a rare four-point play as he was bustled to the ground when sinking a second triple.

His form continued as he danced to a further eight quick points, widening Worcester’s lead to 54-46 by half-time.

A packed home crowd were brought to their feet after the interval as they marvelled at an explosive outburst from their team. While Hughes and Josephs continued to pound forwards, Raheem May-Thompson and Cortez Edwards both accepted invitations to the three-point party.

With Raiders’ resistance now broken, there was a celebration of showcase plays over the final ten minutes. Captain Maarten Bouwknecht debuted on the scoresheet from long-range, Hughes jabbed the ball away from Scott to set up an Edwards slam and a bucket for reserve guard Matt Williamson finalised the victory.

In support of Josephs and Hughes 60-point blitz, Edwards came within two statistics of a triple-double display after totalling 16 points, 9 rebounds and 9 assists. Amir Williams posted 13 points, with May-Thompson supplying a dozen.

Hughes was modest when describing his performance, saying: “My team-mates and my coach believe in me and ran plays for me. I was able to make my first couple of shots and after that the hoop just seemed to get bigger and bigger.”

Wolves take a fortnight’s break before their next outing. Bristol Flyers, the team they defeated in the BBL Cup Final, will visit the University of Worcester Arena on Friday 28 February (7.30).

“Bristol have had some tough results lately but they’re a hard-nosed team with solid players,” added Hughes.

“We don’t take anyone lightly. It’s nice that we’ve now got some time off to get guys healthy, but then we need to get back to practice because we still have things to clean up.”