Charnwood Riders 56-85 Worcester Wolves

Sunday 12th March 2023

Worcester Wolves have sealed a spot in the post-season playoffs after producing a third-quarter explosion that blew them past a shell-shocked Charnwood Riders 85-56 on Sunday.

Trailing 40-35 at half-time, a transformed Wolves returned to the court with an overpowering 26-3 surge in the following ten minutes and notably barred their hosts from scoring from anywhere but the free-throw line over the entire quarter.

In a bid to hold onto their National Basketball League Division Two status, Charnwood included several players in their line-up taken from their Division One sister-side Loughborough Riders, a move that Wolves’ coach Dean Blake felt backfired on them.

“Yes we fell behind but I told our guys that I didn’t feel Charnwood were connected and that if we came out with a strong third quarter we could break them,” said Blake.

“We had an 11-0 run in the first three minutes of the second half and they had to call a time-out. I told the players that we’ve taken their first punch and they’re going to come back at us with another punch, so how are we going to respond to that.

“I’m glad we put on a performance. This puts in a good place ready for the playoffs.”

The teams engaged in a back-and-forth first period that ended with Worcester 18-15 ahead.

The next quarter went the way of the hosts, winning the rebounding battle and nailing an impressive five three-pointers, with a late reply from Lucas McGregor needed to restrict the interval advantage.

The tables were turned after the break. McGregor connected again and Ian Vivero-Rodriguez made a quartet of foul shots to nudge Wolves 41-40 in front.

Matei Balteanu deflated a Riders’ attack with an imperious block and inflated his team’s side of the scoreboard with a three-point play after a double spin to the hoop.

Charnwood’s coach bellowed at his players during a time-out, but to little avail as McGregor immediately stole possession at the restart.

More points for Vivero-Rodriguez and Balteanu accelerated the visitors lead to 54-40 by six minutes into the half, prompting another time-out.

Again the interruption in play did nothing to slow Worcester’s onslaught as they swept 61-43 ahead entering the final quarter.

Numerous steals set up a bonanza of chances for Wolves to profit on offense while at the defensive end of the court a lid remained firmly in place over the basket.

McGregor displayed the enjoyment flowing through the visitors as he took flight for a spectacular trapeze dunk on the way to Worcester’s overwhelming win.

As well as snatching six steals, McGregor led the scoring with 24 points, closely followed by 23 from Vivero-Rodriguez. Balteanu posted 15 points, with Wilfrid Santhe notching ten points to go alongside grabbing five steals.

Wolves will round out their regular season fixtures with a double of matches at the University of Worcester Arena. First up will be Myerscough Academy next Sunday 19 March (4pm), with St Helens Saints visiting the city on Friday 24th March.

Worcester are unlikely to be able to overtake second-placed Saints in the standings but will be keen to hold onto third spot above Bristol Hurricanes.   

“We’ve worked hard to achieve our goal of making the playoffs and now we have to make sure we’re ready for them,” added Blake.

“I want to thank all our fans for their continued support throughout the season and we want to reward them by producing more performances like todays.”