Worcester Wolves 66-75 Plymouth Raiders

Wednesday 24 February 2021

Inconsistency was the order of the day for Worcester Wolves as they dropped out of the BBL Trophy quarter-finals with a 75-66 defeat to Plymouth Raiders at the University of Worcester Arena on Wednesday.

Promising spells of play by the hosts were bookended by just a single basket from the field in the opening five minutes of the match and only a couple scored during the closing nine minutes of the evening, allowing Plymouth to overturn a 59-55 lead.

Coach Matt Newby was compelled to call an early timeout to address Worcester’s initial slim pickings, trailing 13-3. Captain Maarten Bouwknecht stole the ball and drew an unsportsmanlike foul from his defender, inspiring his team-mates to likewise stiffen their resolve.

Mike Parks connected and then provided a long assist for Brandon Anderson to convert. A teardrop shot from Lamarr Kimble hauled the sides together at 22-22 after three minutes of the second quarter.

A back-and-forth end to the first half saw Raiders edge 39-36 ahead.

Bouwknecht was again on hand to dispossess his opponent, setting up a Jordan Williams dunk. Kimble produced fancy footwork to put Wolves 51-49 in front as the end of the third period approached.

Kimble launched a bullet pass for Williams to flush through the hoop, aiding a 55-55 tie entering the final quarter.

Williams profited from a foul and a goal-tending call against Plymouth and then saw the man closely guarding him, Mike Morsell, penalised with a technical penalty as he flopped to the ground behind him.

However, Worcester’s four-point advantage was not built upon. A slew of turnovers followed and Raiders’ Great Britain forward Ashley Hamilton sank a demoralising triple to set his side off on a 20-8 blitz that ensured victory.

Williams tallied a 23 point/13 rebound double-double performance but a dozen points apiece for Anderson and Kimble were the only other significant home scorers.

Wolves now turn back to British Basketball League action and the challenge of a home and away double-header against top-of-the-table Leicester Riders.

This Friday evening (7.30pm) sees Wolves make the trip to Leicester for a match to be shown live on Sky Sports. Riders will head in the opposite direction to visit the University of Worcester Arena on Sunday 28th February (3pm) which will be streamed live on the Worcester Wolves YouTube channel.