Worcester Wolves 87-55 Warwickshire Hawks

Sunday 20th March 2022

By Colin Taylor

Worcester Wolves will go into next weekend’s National Basketball League Division Three playoffs in confident mood after concluding their regular-season fixtures with a decisive 87-55 victory over Warwickshire Hawks on Sunday.

An enthusiastic crowd was on hand at the University of Worcester Arena to see Wolves celebrate their Midlands Conference title by overcoming a slow start to produce a second half blitz that provides momentum at the crucial time of the year.

A 16-10 first quarter lead had Worcester heading in the right direction before Hawks’ resistance stiffened.

The visitors’ big man pairing of Scott Owen and Luke Hatfield connected twice in thirty seconds to grab a 19-18 edge and prompt a Wolves time out six minutes ahead of half-time.

Austin Payne stole the ball to set up Lucas McGregor and then drew an unsportsmanlike foul from his harassed opponent when again getting in the way of a pass.

David Lauzzana was similarly disruptive to lay on a score for John Lenton-Jinks and Payne once more dispossessed an attacker to race from midcourt for a stunning two-handed dunk and a 29-21 turnaround advantage.

The closing couple of minutes of the half saw Bruno Garcia impress on his introduction to the action by slotting in baskets on each of his first three touches, aiding a 39-26 interval lead.

McGregor swished in a triple from the right corner and Ian Vivero-Rodriguez connected from the opposite side as the gap between the sides widened to 58-35 at the end of the third quarter.

Lenton-Jinks drove powerfully to the hoop from the restart, Sergio Sanchez inked the scoresheet with a three and Lauzzana opened his account with a layup before going on to rain in a trio of long-range efforts in a two-minute spell.

A further burst of late scoring from Garcia iced the Worcester victory.

McGregor led the way with 19 points, followed by 15 from Garcia, 11 for Lauzzana and 10 for Lenton-Jinks.

Wolves 15-1 win-loss record for the year awards them the number three seeding amongst the sixteen teams who will contest a playoff schedule that culminates in the Division Three Final at Manchester’s National Basketball Performance Centre on Saturday 23 April.