Friday 18 September 2015 Worcester Wolves 80-69 Glasgow Rocks

Worcester Wolves overcame a few first night nerves to see off Glasgow Rocks as they opened their 2015 British Basketball League campaign on Friday.

Trailing by a couple of points at half-time, the Wolves eventually settled sufficiently to ease away from their visitors for an 80-69 success. With Coach Paul James spreading minutes across his new-look squad there was an equivalent spread of scorers, but it was his ex-Leicester duo of Pavol Losonsky and Jay Couisnard who led the way with 20 and 19 points respectively.

It was Losonsky who got the Wolves‘ side of the scoreboard moving, with guard Malik Smith and forward Perris Blackwell the next men on target. Despite missing out on most of Worcester’s pre-season, Couisnard was soon able to make his mark with eight first-quarter points.

A slender 23-22 lead increased to 33-29 with the help of consecutive baskets for Ashton Khan. Spanish forward Javier Mugica delighted home fans by finally nailing his first points in a Wolves’ vest as the half came to a close, but those same fans were then disappointed to see Rocks’ Great Britain International Kieron Achara tally five quick points to help his team to a 42-44 interval advantage.

The third period would see more of the same nip-and-tuck action, with Wolves threatening to pull away before Glasgow would once more tug them back. Entering the last quarter leading by 60-58, persistent ball movement finally wore down a tiring Rocks defence.

Disraeli Lufadeju laid home a neat pass from Couisnard, and was then on hand to grab a wayward Glasgow pass, presenting fellow Englishman Ben Eaves with an easy basket. After Couisnard had gifted another score, this time for Blackwell, Worcester finally broke clear from their opponents, on their way to the eventual victory.

Paul James was satisfied by his team’s display saying: “It was a bit of a nervous affair. In the first half we were tentative, but after that we had some key plays and made some key stops and came out with the win.”

Looking ahead to a big second weekend of action when Wolves return to the University of Worcester Arena next Friday to greet Bristol Flyers, followed the next night by a trip to Leicester Riders, James remarked: “Bristol are always well-drilled and Leicester are always a challenge. It will be back-to-back games, but we go pretty deep with our squad this year so we’ll be up for whatever we face.”