St Helens Saints 72-65 Worcester Wolves

Sunday 8th January 2023

By Colin Taylor

Worcester Wolves were unable to get off to a winning start in 2023 as they lost out in a hard-fought contest 72-65 at St Helen Saints on Sunday.

Wolves now occupy fifth place in National Basketball League Division Two with a 7-4 win-loss record while Saints sit in second position with just one defeat from ten outings.

The visitors were compelled into an early timeout after falling 9-3 behind on the back of a basket from ex-Worcester guard Disraeli Lufadeju.

Liam Langridge-Barker hit his second three-pointer to reduce the arrears but a trio of turnovers in less than a minute put his side back into a 16-6 hole.

Matei Balteanu and Evan Longman both debuted on the scoresheet to close St Helens’ lead to 19-15 entering the second quarter.

A dearth of scoring once more put Wolves on the back foot. More disruption ensued when Humberto Ferreira was forced to the bench after picking up his third and fourth fouls in the last minute of the half to leave Saints in charge at 35-22.

The hosts maximised their control after the break, pushing the scoreboard to 51-28 before there was any meaningful Worcester response. Longman connected twice and stole the ball from his opponent to set up an Isaiah Walker dunk.

St Helens widened the gap back out to 61-43 by a couple of minutes into the last quarter but again Wolves bounced back.

Walker sandwiched another slam between a double of threes while a similar flurry of scoring from Longman dragged the deficit into single figures.

Longman and Walker led the Worcester scoring with 20 and 17 points respectively, supported by 11 points from Wilfrid Santhe. Lufadeju contributed 19 of Saints total.

Wolves continue their extended road trip next Saturday 14 January (1pm) when they visit Doncaster Eagles.