Saturday 14 November 2015 Plymouth Raiders 80-91 Worcester Wolves

Worcester Wolves bounced back in style from a disappointing home defeat the night before to triumph 91-80 at Plymouth Raiders on Saturday.
Just as in the loss to Cheshire Phoenix which saw Akeem Ellis put up a whopping 36 points, Wolves’ opponents featured a player with a hot hand. Raiders’ player-coach Daryl Corletto dazzled with 15 points in the first quarter alone, but on this occasion Worcester were able to shackle him sufficiently that he could only contribute nine points thereafter.
The match stayed tight until late in the final period when the balanced attack of the Wolves meant that they were finally able to pull clear of their tiring hosts. Perris Blackwell led the line with 20 points and 14 rebounds but, unlike several recent games, was not left to battle alone. Javier Mugica gave an all-round display with 11 points, nine rebounds and five assists, while guards Josh Cameron and Jay Couisnard weighed in with 16 and 14 points respectively.
Couisnard and Cameron both opened their scoring accounts with triples, helping their side to a 16-14 lead after six minutes had elapsed. It was from here that Corletto exploded into life with eight unanswered points in less than a minute to prompt a Worcester time out.
Cameron restarted proceedings with another outside success before Corletto continued his outburst to put Raiders in front at 31-28. By half-time Wolves had edged back in front at 48-45, a lead that would be extended to 58-50 by midway through the third period once Mugica had debuted his name on the scoresheet.
Up to the commencement of the final period Plymouth had showed impeccable efficiency at the free throw line by converting all 17 of their foul shots. However Dante Williams was first to see an attempt go awry, triggering a series of misses from his team mates. Raiders showed similar uncertainty in their ball-handling as players tired. A couple of interceptions of flagging point guard Josh Wilcher by Couisnard stood either side of a confident blocked shot by a leaping Blackwell.
Playing the full 40 minutes had by now taken its toll on Corletto as his earlier accuracy departed him. There was no such letdown for Worcester as Coach Paul James cleverly rotated his troops to victory.
“It was a good win. We needed a reaction,” remarked James. “We moved the ball well on offense with balanced scoring and, most importantly, after the first quarter we knuckled down to some serious defense.”
Next up will be a trip to league-leading Newcastle Eagles on Friday, followed by the hosting of Plymouth at the University of Worcester Arena on Sunday (tip off 3pm). “We have things we need to do better, but we’ll work hard this week and we’ll concentrate on what I know we can do well,” added James.