Friday 22 January 2016 Worcester Wolves 94-80 Newcastle Eagles

A magnificently-composed performance from Worcester Wolves saw them end Newcastle Eagles’ record-setting 28-match unbeaten run on Friday.

Worcester had been buzzing all day with the revelation that an unclaimed £33 million lottery ticket had been bought in the city. Spectators at a rammed-full University of Worcester Arena were able to revel in their own version of winning the jackpot as they celebrated Wolves’ 94-80 success.

Wolves moved a couple of points ahead shortly into the second quarter, boosted the lead into double figures for much of the match, but needed to withstand Eagles clawing back  to within seven points, at 83-76 with three minutes remaining.

Coach Paul James delighted in paying tribute to how his players became the first side to beat Newcastle since last April:

“The guys have been fired up in training all week, waiting for tonight. We came out and everyone performed. We were solid defensively and took our chances on offense. It’s not very often that anyone can put up 94 points against Newcastle.

“They came back from a big deficit against Leicester to win the Cup last weekend so we knew there was no time when we could afford to relax. We held our composure brilliantly.

“And it looks as if it wasn’t just the players who couldn’t wait for the game. This must be the biggest crowd we’ve had here since the Arena opened and I’m so pleased that we sent everyone home happy. A fantastic crowd produced a fantastic atmosphere and the team responded.”

Captain Pavol Lososky and returning centre Perris Blackwell muscled their way to 26 and 20 points respectively. A large number of those points came about from the assured passing of Orlan Jackman and Ashton Khan. Jackman laid on eight assists alongside his personal tally of 16 points, with Khan contributing seven assists.

With three minutes to go in the opening quarter Wolves trailed 10-18, with Losonsky spending time on the bench after a double of early fouls. James risked the Slovakian forward’s return to the court and he responded with five quick points to reduce matters to 20-22 by the period’s end.

Khan stole the ball from his opposite number Rahmon Fletcher and converted to level the scores. Eight combined points from Losonsky and Blackwell helped the hosts to nudge 30-28 ahead.

A spell of careless ball-handling would accelerate Worcester’s lead. Jackman harried the ball out of the hands of Eagles’ Drew Lasker and Blackwell reached down low to dispossess the much-smaller Fletcher.

Khan furthered Fletcher’s frustration when blocking his next shot attempt and Jay Couisnard slotted home Wolves’ first triple of the evening, elevating the lead to 47-39 by half-time.

On the first possession after the interval Newcastle’s Andy Thomson managed to sink a desperation three-pointer as time on the shot-clock expired, but Worcester refused to let this discourage their focus. Jackman and Couisnard responded in kind from distance while Blackwell and Losonsky once more took up their positions beneath the hoop, pushing the advantage to 73-62 by the third quarter’s close.

By seven minutes remaining the lead had maximised at 81-66. Eagles’ last chance of a comeback was snuffed out when a throng of Worcester players eagerly chased back to defend their basket against a sprinting Fletcher, harassing their opponent to miss a seemingly-sure two points.

James added further congratulations to his players, saying: “Ashton Khan and Orlan Jackman were involved in everything. Perris has come back into things in a big way and Pavol had a great game.

“Pavol has previously scored well, but arguably against the lesser teams. To now do it against Newcastle was proof of his ability.

“This is what we have to do – have the mindset that when we come together we can challenge and beat any side in this league.”

There is a quick return to action for Wolves as they travel to Surrey Scorchers on Sunday. After that they will be at Leeds Force on Friday, before returning to the University of Worcester Arena next Sunday 31 January, (tip off 6.30pm), to host Glasgow Rocks in the quarter-final of the BBL Trophy.

“We can’t let tonight’s game go to waste. We need to make sure we go to Surrey and Leeds and play just as hard, and just as well,” added James.