Birmingham City University 75-57 Worcester Wolves

Friday October 3rd 2025

By Colin Taylor

Worcester Wolves lost out 75-57 at Birmingham City University in the second round of the National Cup on Friday.

Wolves were outgunned early, sinking to a 37-23 half-time deficit and finding themselves unable to pull back the arrears.

The evening opened when Wilfrid Santhe intercepted an inbounded ball to set up a Fin Rennie three-pointer and the visitors’ sole lead of the game.

Ferocious defence was soon established as the order of the day for Birmingham as they continually stymied Worcester attacks.

At the other end of the court, veteran forward Sam Toluwase showcased the skills that earned him plenty of minutes at several BBL teams, including Manchester Giants and Leeds Force, to power to ten of the points in his side’s 24-15 first-quarter lead.

Another Rennie triple, one for Harry Godwin and an interior basket from Dejaun Antonio were the only offensive output for the visitors across the entire second period.

Matters improved slightly after the interval on the back of a burst of action from Humberto Ferreira. A double of his own scores were followed by a mazy dribble and hand-off for Dume Okibe to convert and provide a sniff of a comeback, now trailing 49-41.

But, urged on by a boisterous home crowd, Birmingham re-asserted their dominance   to draw 54-41 away entering the final quarter. 

The remaining ten minutes saw no relaxation of Birmingham’s in-your-face defensive intensity, leaving Wolves insufficient room to turn matters around.

Ferreira was Worcester’s only double-digit scorer with 14 points. Meanwhile, Toluwase revelled in high-stepping his way to an impressive 33 points, as well as grabbing a game-high nine rebounds.

Head coach Dean Blake acknowledged that his side were second-best, saying: “Birmingham have a really good bunch of players who play with a lot of energy, so respect to them really.

“Our guys should now understand the level of where we need to be. This was a wake-up call for us.”

The following day Wolves fell to a narrow 76-73 defeat in league action at Sheffield Arrows.

Wolves return to the University of Worcester Arena next Friday 10 October when Cardiff Archers visit the city for an 8pm tip-off as part of the three day Basketball Weekender.

“Everyone should now have an understanding that you can’t walk into a game half-asleep,” added Blake. “From the get-go, from the jump, everyone has to be on it.”

Tickets for all this weekends home games can be purchased here or from the Arena Box Office.