Worcester Wolves 96-73 Derby Trailblazers II

Saturday 19 February 2022

By Colin Taylor

Worcester Wolves brushed off a sluggish start before running out to a comfortable 96-73 success against Derby Trailblazers at the University of Worcester Arena on Saturday.

Ian Vivero-Rodriguez notched the opening score of the evening for the hosts but it would be Derby who would go on to take the upper hand in the early going.

While Worcester struggled to establish a rhythm their visitors showed no such hesitancy with a series of three-pointers sweeping them into a 21-12 lead with a couple of minutes left in the first quarter.

Wolves’ own perimeter accuracy ignited a revival as triples from Drew Clark and Wilfrid Santhe reduced Derby’s advantage to just 25-22 as the second period began.

Bruno Garcia dispossessed his opponent at mid-court to further close the gap and, once Vivero-Rodriguez joined in the disruption of Trailblazer attacks to set up baskets for Lucas McGregor and Sergio Sanchez, the tables were turned.

McGregor was fouled in the act of shooting a three at the half-time buzzer and sank the subsequent free throws to finalise an impressive 24-10 second quarter and bring up a 40-33 score-line.

The momentum stayed with Worcester after the interval as Vivero-Rodriguez emptied his bag of tricks. A reverse layup, a mesmerising hesitation dribble and a stunning quick-fire trio of scores from distance brought a large home crowd to their feet.

McGregor displayed similar verve with a rainbow three-pointer and pushing his way to offensive rebounds to help his side establish 67-51 third-quarter control.

David Lauzzana handed off clever passes to Garcia and to Matei Balteanu as the effervescence continued and victory was confirmed.

In a match where all ten players in Worcester’s squad inked the scoresheet, Vivero-Rodriguez led the way with 27 points, followed by 17 from McGregor and 12 for Balteanu.

“We started slowly but once we settled down we showed what we can do,” said Assistant Coach Andreas Farakos. “Individually Ian was outstanding, but I’m really pleased that every player contributed and every player was rewarded with points.” Wolves complete a three-game home-stand next Saturday 26 February (7pm) when they welcome Birmingham Mets to the University of Worcester Arena.