Sunday 22 November 2015 Worcester Wolves 91-101 Plymouth Raiders

One week after surrendering their proud 15-match unbeaten home record to Cheshire Phoenix, Worcester Wolves have now tasted their second defeat of the season at the University of Worcester Arena after they faltered against Plymouth Raiders on Sunday.

The afternoon saw Wolves trailing 40-51 by half-time, falling more than 20 points behind in the third quarter, before mounting a too-little too-late comeback to close the afternoon at 91-101.

Wolves were subjected to a hail of three-pointers, with their visitors tallying an impressive thirteen successes, while they could themselves muster just a solitary triple on target out of an increasingly-desperate 20 attempts. Perris Blackwell once more headed the Wolves’ scorers with 23 points, followed by Pavol Losonsky on 20 points. Player-coach Daryl Corletto led the way for Plymouth with 24 points, supported by five of his squad also in double-digits.

Much-travelled forward Adrien Sturt was the first man to convert from the outside with Corletto following soon after. Worcester’s Ben Eaves looked dangerous early on with a couple of baskets, but saw the rest of his contribution hampered by foul trouble.

As the opening quarter wound down Corletto was left unguarded to convert from the left corner and on the next play was given similar space to convert from the opposite corner, finalising an 18-28 deficit. In the next period home supporters were left exasperated when Corletto again found his favourite spot on the court to maintain Raiders’ margin of advantage.

The match slipped further out of control in the second half. The hard work of Blackwell and Losonsky close to the basket was overshadowed by Plymouth’s bombardment from long-range during a 16-2 run in the third quarter.

Worcester’s resistance stiffened in the final period as they ground their way back to 82-89 with three minutes remaining. However, the next minute or so saw a series of errant passes and ill-advised shot attempts from the hosts, while Raiders’ Dante Williams coolly set his feet to sink consecutive triples and put the game firmly out of Wolves’ reach.

Coach Paul James admitted afterwards that he was seeking answers for the defeat, saying: “The performance was just not there. We’ve got a lot to figure out. We need to find a combination of players who are all going to come out to play hard, and play hard for the full forty minutes.”

Wolves return to the University of Worcester Arena this Friday, welcoming Leeds Force to the city (tip off 7.30pm). The next day they travel to meet Bristol Flyers.