Worcester Wolves 90-83 Plymouth Raiders

Worcester Wolves’ coach Paul James praised a fighting performance from his players as they fell short of making it through to the BBL Trophy Final in Glasgow.

Facing the considerable task of overturning a 78-96 deficit from their first leg semi-final at Plymouth Raiders, Wolves succeeded in hauling back the arrears at several times during Friday’s return leg at the University of Worcester Arena, but could not do enough to hold onto their gains, winning 90-83 on the night, but ultimately dropping a dozen points below an overall success.

“I’m proud of the players,” said James. “They fought, they competed and they gave themselves the opportunity to pull back the deficit.

“We played the game at an amazing pace and with great intensity. There were a couple of spells where we lost focus and that hurt us, but it was always going to be hard to maintain our efforts at such a high level for the full forty minutes. Unfortunately, the damage was done in the first leg in Plymouth.”

A heightened level of concentration was on display from the opening tip-off. Marek Klassen and Maurice Walker tallied Worcester’s first six points, while at the other end players swarmed around attackers to hold Plymouth scoreless for three minutes.

A quartet of three-pointers from Jermel Kennedy and Trevor Setty boosted the hosts to a 28-17 first-quarter lead.

Alex Navajas came to the fore with seven quick points, Danny Huffor joined Setty in connecting from distance and, by midway through the second period, home supporters were on their feet to applaud a 43-25 advantage that put the scores level on aggregate.

Foul trouble became a factor as the half ended. Navajas and latest signing Trey Ziegler picked up their third fouls before the interval. Coach James was awarded a technical foul for disputing referees’ calls and Raiders took advantage to reduce the gap to 47-38.

Walker went to work close to the basket to widen the lead once more. A ferocious two-handed slam put Plymouth’s overall lead again in jeopardy at 55-38. But when Walker was whistled for his third penalty of the match, accompanied by four infractions for Setty and Ziegler, Wolves’ momentum was disrupted.

An electric start to the final quarter decided the tie. Raiders’ guard Rhys Carter launched a long assist for a Cory Dixon alley-oop finish, then himself sank a three-pointer. A Dixon dunk and further scores from Carter followed, prompting a large band of travelling fans to celebrate a 72-72 draw on the night, with six minutes remaining.

A late burst of action from Setty helped Wolves to a 90-83 win, but an insufficient total to progress to the Trophy Final.

Setty led all scorers with 26 points, followed by Walker on 20 points.

Wolves now face a quick follow-up with a Saturday visit to Surrey Scorchers, before returning to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday 10 March (7.30) to meet Leeds Force.

“Today has been very hard physically and mentally. We’re obviously disappointed to have lost out overall but, taken as a single game, we did well. We have to carry forward the positives from tonight for the rest of the season, beginning with our trip to Surrey,” added James.