Plymouth Raiders 96-81 Worcester Wolves (Agg 180-163)

Thursday 06 May 2021

Worcester Wolves were unable to keep pace with the firepower of Plymouth Raiders as their season came to a close at the University of Worcester Arena on Thursday.

Wolves swiftly erased a two-point deficit from Tuesday’s BBL playoff quarter-final first leg when bouncing to an 11-2 lead by the fifth minute of the match, but had fallen back into arrears by half-time.

When Plymouth thumped in nine points without reply at the start of the last quarter the tie was decided and the visitors were left to ease to an overpowering 96-81 victory.

The game began with baskets for the forward pairing of Jordan Williams and Elijah Burns and dribble-drives from Brandon Anderson as Wolves leapt into a 21-15 first-quarter lead.

Burns hammered down a Henry Wilkins missed three to keep his side 23-20 ahead early in the second period but, worryingly, nearly five minutes would elapse before another home score.

In the meantime Raiders rattled in a dozen points, profiting from a quartet of Worcester turnovers.

Burns finalised a fifteen-point first half to restrict Plymouth’s advantage to 43-35.

Star guard Ricky McGill zipped to the hoop to widen the gap, but Anderson demonstrated similar speed with a series of successes to keep Wolves in the fight at 53-49 behind by midway through the third quarter.

Entering the final ten minutes just about staying in touch at 68-57, some promise still existed for the hosts. However any hope was rapidly extinguished by a blitz of scoring from McGill and from Great Britain forward Ashley Hamilton.

Former Worcester player Elvisi Dusha delighted in sinking a three-pointer to bring up an overwhelming 80-59 score-line at seven minutes remaining, leaving no doubt about which team would be progressing to the playoff semi-finals.

Anderson led Wolves scorers with 21 points, supported by 18 from Maarten Bouwknecht and 15 apiece for Burns and Williams. McGill dominated Raiders scoring with 29 points.

“Credit to Plymouth, they made it very difficult for us to execute our game,” said Wolves’ coach Matt Newby.

“They exploited some one-on-one matchups and their surge at the start of the fourth quarter killed the match off.”

Plymouth now join Leicester Riders, London Lions and Newcastle Eagles in next week’s playoff final four, all targeting a spot in the BBL Playoff Final taking place on Sunday 16 May at Leicester’s Morningside Arena.

Newby was keen to praise his players for their efforts during a demanding season.

“There’s been some significant challenges this year,” he said.

“At some junctures of the season we have been undermanned, either by injuries or by awaiting players to arrive, but we have always remained credible.

“I’m really proud of that and proud of the players for what they’ve done as individuals and as an overall unit.”

Newby is looking forward to the return of fans to the University of Worcester Arena.

“I’m sure that there were one or two close games this year where our considerable home support would have given us the extra spark to get wins over the line,” he added.

“I’d like to thank fans for all their kind words throughout the season and look forward to when I can thank them in person.”