Worcester Wolves 84-82 Leicester Riders

Sunday 28 February 2021

Worcester Wolves posted what their coach Matt Newby hailed as their result of the season so far when taking down the leaders of the British Basketball League Leicester Riders 84-82 in an electrifying overtime thriller at the University of Worcester Arena on Sunday.

With six minutes left in the match Leicester’s star guard Geno Crandall was dismissed from the court after taking exception to a referee’s call. When his coach Rob Paternostro joined the dispute, Worcester sank technical foul shots to stretch out to a 72-60 lead

But the game was a long way from being decided once Crandall’s replacement Connor Washington hit a purple patch, sinking a quick-fire nine points to leave Wolves clinging to a 74-73 edge with just six seconds remaining.

Daniel Nelson-Henry was impeded as he set up his shot, drawing a double of free throws. Only being successful on his first attempt resulted in the afternoon moving into five minutes of added time.

Lamarr Kimble drew first blood for Worcester in the overtime period. Washington was on the mark again for an 82-82 tie with only a couple of seconds to go.

Newby called a timeout to decide a final play. Captain Maarten Bouwknecht inbounded to the hot hand of Kimble who duly drained the game-winner, bringing elation to the hosts.

“The guys executed that last play perfectly,” applauded Newby. “Lamarr came through the elevator doors, between their bigs, and made the shot.

“I’m delighted for the players. It was a victory that was coming after a couple of good performances but no wins in our last games against Plymouth and Leicester.

“We’ve had some games where we’ve folded at the end but today we didn’t. It was our result of the season so far.” 

The match began in positive fashion for Wolves when Bouwknecht connected from the corner and Leicester were harried into a shot-clock violation.

Mike Parks and Jordan Williams combined for a tidy big-man duo in aiding a 24-20 advantage entering the second quarter.

Williams backed down his defender to widen the lead and it was another player of height, Daniel Johnson-Thompson, who banked in a half-time buzzer-beater to keep Worcester 36-33 to the good.

By midway through the third quarter it was Riders’ turn to lead at 47-45 before Brandon Anderson and Kimble both found their aim from distance to reverse matters and provide a 58-51 home cushion.

The last period of regulation time saw Micah Elan join the shooting party in the middle of a burst of Crandall scoring, ahead of his looming ejection and the subsequent pulsating close to the contest

Anderson and Kimble top-scored with 21 and 17 points respectively. Parks and Williams both posted double-double performances, the former contributing 15 points and ten rebounds and the latter supplying 14 and 12.

“There were some great efforts across the board today,” said Newby. “And I especially want to credit Daniel Johnson-Thompson for how hard he’s worked on his rehab and then giving us valuable minutes in the last couple of games. I need to thank the University of Worcester medical staff for doing such a good job with him.”

Wolves take to the court again this Wednesday 03 March against Sheffield Sharks at the University of Worcester Arena. The match tips off at 7pm and will be streamed live and for free on Worcester Wolves YouTube channel.

The club announced the signing of 6 foot 8 inch American forward Elijah Burns last week and Newby is expecting him to make his debut on Wednesday.

“Our players have shown the right attitude lately despite being physically-tired, but we need a greater rotation,” added Newby. “Elijah is scheduled to arrive early next week meaning we’ll then have the benefit of getting another pedigree-player joining our squad.”