Worcester Wolves 76-75 St Helens Saints

Saturday 6th December 2025

By Colin Taylor

Worcester Wolves players danced in celebration of clinging on to their unbeaten home record after finally coming out on top of an exhausting see-saw encounter with St Helens Saints on Saturday.

Wolves led 31-25 at half-time but had to battle a rampaging St Helens comeback that propelled the visitors 75-73 ahead with just 17 seconds remaining in the contest.

Coach Dean Blake called for a timeout to draw up a response and was rewarded by seeing Daijaun Antonio float in a long-range success as he teetered on the edge of the three-point line.

The Worcester guard was immediately in the thick of it again, grabbing hold of the ball as Saints fumbled a last chance to snatch back control, leaving Wolves cock-a-hoop at a 76-75 success.

“St Helens are a really good team and we knew they would have a run at us,” said Blake. “They put us under fire in the second half and I’m so proud of our players for pulling out the win.

“Guys are telling me afterwards ‘good call coach’ about that play after the timeout, but the players are the ones who had to execute the call.

“Daijaun made his shot and then straightaway got involved at the defensive end – he made two big plays there.”

Worcester began the evening in confident fashion, led by a series of confident drives and clever assists from their captain Wilfrid Santhe, setting up a 19-14 first quarter advantage.

Bustling forward Earl Burgess set out his stall next to the basket to keep Wolves in front by the half-time interval.

However, although Burgess was joined after the break by Humberto Ferreira in lively action close to the hoop, shots from outside the perimeter repeatedly missed the target.

Contrastingly, Saints now found their feet. Former Worcester veteran Disraeli Lufadeju rolled back the years to inspire his teammates, dashing all around the court, outjumping taller opponents and accumulating points from unlikely angles.

A 56-53 lead for the visitors entering the last quarter had widened to 66-57 with five minutes left in the evening before Wolves finally called a halt to the run.

Antonio and Burgess both tipped back in their own misses, Luan Ferreira connected twice and Santhe dispossessed Lufadeju to finalise ten unanswered points that nudged the hosts 67-66 in front, ahead of the games exciting final moments.

Burgess thumped his way to a 23 points and 13 rebounds double-double performance. Santhe and Humberto Ferreira tabbed 15 points apiece while Antonio notched a dozen points. Lufadeju featured for St Helens with his 15 points.

Wolves’ next matches are against a couple of Sheffield clubs. First up is a trip to Sheffield Sharks on Saturday 13 December for a 6.15 tip-off, followed by a festive matchup on Saturday 20 December (7.30pm) back at the University of Worcester Arena against Sharks’ neighbours Sheffield Arrows.

“December is all about us taking on quality opponents,” added Blake. “Sharks are a good team with good players but so are we. They will have plans for us but we have plans for them.”

Tickets for the Christmas Game versus Sheffield Arrows on December 20th from here and the Arena Box Office.