Leicester Warriors 84-87 Worcester Wolves

Saturday 1st March 2025

By Colin Taylor

Worcester Wolves produced their result of the year on Saturday when slaying high-flying Leicester Warriors.

Leicester, joint-leaders of National Basketball League Division Two, romped into a 16-0 lead as the match began before eighth-placed Worcester hauled themselves off the floor to shock their hosts with an 87-84 upset.

Coach Dean Blake disclosed the half-time atmosphere that prompted his side’s comeback. “There were a lot of loud conversations in the changing room,” said Blake.

“I said to the guys I’m not talking tactical stuff here, we just have to compete. When we start to compete then we can talk about tactics.

“It was a really poor start but when we play together as we did in the later quarters we’re a different team, a different group.

“The team we have here is a top four group, there’s no doubt in my mind about that.

“What’s happened up to now this season has happened, but every team in the league knows that they have to come to play when they meet us.”

Warriors set the early tone by sinking a three-pointer within the opening few seconds.

Nearly five minutes elapsed before Wolves’ first response, a Jacob Dearman triple.

Leicester immediately replied, maximising their lead at 21-3.

A double of outside scores from Fin Rennie stemmed the bleeding, holding the host’s advantage to 28-11 entering the second period.

Kamarni Steadman joined Dearman and Rennie in accurate perimeter-shooting perimeter while Daijaun Antonio found success driving to the basket, closing the deficit to 35-25 four minutes before half-time.

But Warriors again stepped on the gas. As the half wound down an open layup was spurned by Worcester and they had to watch the ball being instantly propelled to the other end of the court for a buzzer-beating three and a 54-37 home cushion.

It was a different story after the interval as Wilfrid Santhe now joined Antonio in confidently navigating forward and American big man James Davis asserted himself close to the hoop.

Davis grabbed a series of rebounds, swatted away a Leicester attack and dunked the ball through the net while Santhe surged to a quick seven points, severely slashing the arrears to just 67-63 by the close of the third quarter.

Jeremy Lievin set up shop with Davis to form a barrier around the basket and help Wolves to finally nudge 74-73 ahead.

The last two minutes of the afternoon saw Warriors 84-81 back in front before Dearman connected and Antonio stole possession.

Davis once more rose skywards to thump a two-handed slam through the net and gaze down at demoralised Leicester defenders.

Antonio held firm from the free-throw line and a final Warriors attempt went nowhere to leave the visitors celebrating a pulsating fightback win.

Antonio led the scoring with 18 points, closely followed by Dearman’s 16. Rennie and Steadman tabbed 13 and 12 points respectively.

Davis logged an 11 point/12 rebound double-double display with Lievin also performing heavy lifting by pulling down 14 boards.

Next weekend sees the club close out this season’s fixtures taking place at the University of Worcester Arena with a doubleheader of action. On Friday 07 March (7.30pm) Wolves host Myerscough Academy, with Cardiff City visiting on Sunday afternoon (5pm). Get your tickets for both games here and from the Arena Box Office.

“I’m really glad we got the win on the road today and we now want to go back home to put on a show for our fans and get some more wins, though hopefully without today’s palpitations,” added Blake.