London Lions 71-100 Worcester Wolves

A couple of days after defeating the formidable Newcastle Eagles on their own court, Worcester Wolves have again disregarded the formbook by taking down another title-contender.

On Sunday Wolves travelled to London Lions’ Copper Box Arena and didn’t just come away with a victory, but also administered a severe 100-71 thrashing to their fancied opponents.

It was a tight contest until half-time. However, just as against Newcastle, an overwhelming 30-8 post-interval Worcester outburst left no way back for their startled hosts.

Coach Paul James was gushing in paying tribute to his players, saying: “It has been an amazing weekend. I’m delighted for everyone. The players worked so hard this week in training to make these wins possible.”

“We made sure we got the basics right and then stepped it up from there. We had a solid first half today, talked through a few adjustments during the break and then blew London away. One or two threes went in and then the floodgates opened.
“Allied to that, our defensive effort was outstanding – I counted eleven stops in a row – every time Lions had the ball we hunted them down as a pack. The players were relentless.”

Kai Williams was amongst three former Wolves now representing London, and it was the small forward who opened their scoring. But Alex Owumi missed on his first shot and soon allowed Marek Klassen to dispossess him. Zaire Taylor picked up two quick fouls and was forced to take an early seat on the bench, setting the tone for a dismal evening for the trio.

Maurice Walker settled into his usual pattern of dominance against his opposing big men to grab nine first quarter points, keeping matters close at 19-23.
London found Ashton Khan far too fleet-footed to stop in the second period. His repeated slices to the basket helped nudge Worcester 43-42 in front at half-time.

Four minutes after the interval the sides were all-square at 50-50. before Klassen provided an explosion of action. Assists to Walker and to Jermel Kennedy for ferocious dunks were followed up by further dishes for the two Worcester men and a double of scores of his own, breaking the match open.
At the other end, London players found themselves pounced upon from all sides and consequently held scoreless for the remainder of the third period.

Though already firmly in charge at 73-50, the pressure was still maintained, with Lions repeatedly denied any space to settle. Klassen would continue to multi-task, rattling in fourteen final-quarter points, and pulling the strings for others.

It was Walker who brought up the century for Worcester, setting the seal on the outstanding 100-71 victory.

Walker and Klassen led the way with 26 and 23 points respectively. Danny Huffor tallied 17 points while Jermel Kennedy secured a double-double return with 14 points and 11 rebounds. Khan chipped in with 11 points.

Wolves will make a triumphant return to the University of Worcester Arena this Friday, 27 January, to host Surrey Scorchers, with the opportunity to record a hat trick of wins for the first time this season.

James announced that there should be no let-up in intensity after a memorable weekend, saying: “We wanted something out of these two matches. We got the maximum return and it is important that we push on from here.”

“This has shown that if everyone buys into the system and trusts each other then the achievements will follow. We will enjoy the wins but it will be straight back to hard work again next week.”

“It’s bigger than us adding four points to our total in the table, it’s been about us sending a message to the rest of the league and sending a message to ourselves about the potential for success that we have at this club.”

For enquiries, please contact: worcesterwolves@worc.ac.uk