Worcester Wolves 88-72 Sheffield Sharks

Wednesday 03 March 2021

Worcester Wolves made sure there was no relaxing of their intensity following Sunday’s beating of league leaders Leicester Riders when dismissing fourth-placed Sheffield Sharks 88-72 at the University of Worcester Arena on Wednesday.

Blistering offense swept Wolves into 57-39 dominance by half-time, allowing coach Matt Newby the rare luxury of easing reliance on his starters and sharing extra minutes across his squad as they enter a double of matches for the fourth successive week.

“It was a positive first half with just a single turnover, where we played selfless basketball, disrupted Sheffield’s offense and ran up a big lead,” said Newby.

“We were a bit off the pace in the third quarter but Sheffield were always going to come back at us with a run of their own.

“We managed the game well in the last quarter which then gave us the chance to get more people out on the floor.” 

There was an even-handed start to proceedings with the contest tied at 16-16 when Lamarr Kimble opened his account with under three minutes left in the first quarter.

Maarten Bouwknecht pushed Wolves in front and a livewire Brandon Anderson sparked a burst of scoring when he leapt highest from a forest of defenders for a put-back basket.

Anderson then stripped the ball at mid-court and, with the assistance of latest signing Elijah Burns, expanded the host’s first quarter advantage to 27-19.

Burns celebrated his debut with a three-pointer from the left corner and Anderson dispossessed former Worcester guard Callum Jones. Bouwknecht twice hit triples and Kimble sliced to the hoop with ease. 

Burns made as if to take another three-pointer but instead fired a bullet pass for Mike Parks to gleefully convert from beneath the basket as Sharks lost control of the match.

The half-time interval encouraged some improvement from the visitors, restricting Wolves to a mere 14 third-quarter points. But at the same time only adding ten points to their own total meant any hopes of victory stayed out of reach.

Sheffield’s disappointment boiled over in the final period with a double of dismissals. First to go was their coach Atiba Lyons as he yelled at referees after Nathan Ramsdale-Owen danced along the baseline for a clever layup.

Any resistance had definitely evaporated by the time Parks swung on the rim of the basket as he threw down an Anderson miss, threatening to drag it to the floor, for an overpowering 80-52 score-line.

Antwon Lillard followed his boss into the locker rooms as he similarly fell foul of the officials. Both sides emptied their benches, signalling that Wolves’ win was sealed.

Anderson led the scoring with 22 points, supported by 16 from Bouwknecht and 14 for Kimble.

Parks weighed in with a 14 points and 14 rebounds double-double performance, with Jordan Williams just a touch or two away from a similar feat when tallying eight points and nine boards.

Burns provided lively statistics of nine points, three rebounds and two assists as he donned a Worcester vest for the first time.

“There were some great contributions,” said Newby. “I particularly want to give Nathan Ramsdale-Owen a mention for giving us a spark off the bench – he’s a fine example of a University of Worcester student who’s stepping up.

“And I’m really pleased for Elijah. He’s a great communicator and showed real presence despite only flying in a couple of days ago and being very unfamiliar with our systems.

“At the same time I must thank Kj Lawson for his time with us. He’s a consummate professional who will be sorely missed. It’s unfortunate that the timespan associated with his getting back to fitness from injury doesn’t allow enough time before the end of the season.”

Wolves are back in action at the University of Worcester Arena this Friday 05 March when Surrey Scorchers are in town. The match tips off at 7.30pm will be shown live on Sky Sports as well as on Worcester Wolves YouTube channel.

“Surrey have had up and down results. There are no gimme games this season. We’ll need to be ready for them on Friday,” added Newby.