Surrey Scorchers 77-83 Worcester Wolves

Saturday 28 September 2019

Worcester Wolves sit atop of their BBL Cup pool after following up last week’s opening day win over London Lions by triumphing at Surrey Scorchers 83-77 on Saturday. 

A back and forth contest saw neither side able to break clear of the other. While Wolves had the upper hand close to the basket, Surrey were on deadly form from distance, making a huge 17 of their 34 long-range shot attempts. 

Former Worcester man Caylin Raftopoulos slotted in consecutive triples and when, with just two minutes of the match remaining, his team-mate Henry Wilkins got one to drop Scorchers led 70-68. 

But Wolves’ American guard Mark Hughes stepped forward to twice reply in kind and stayed cool to make a quartet of free throws and seal a thrilling road victory for his team. 

Surrey edged the opening quarter 16-14 before Daniel Johnson-Thompson levelled the match from a Hughes assist. 

Cortez Edwards gleefully converted a crafty pass from Maarten Bouwknecht and a few moments later the latter player notched his own score to aid a 39-36 half-time advantage for the visitors. 

Latest signing Dutchman Julius Van Sauers grabbed his first points in a Wolves’ vest and Raheem May-Thompson rattled in a quick eight points to maintain a 61-56 lead entering the final quarter. 

A large bunch of travelling fans were royally entertained by successive end-to-end dashes to the hoop. Edwards was the first to make the play and then it was the turn of Jordan Williams to also race coast-to-coast before throwing down a powerful dunk. 

While Scorchers continued their accuracy from outside the arc, Worcester’s dogged inside resilience succeeded in ensuring a see-saw score-line and an exciting finale. 

Four Worcester players scored in double-digits. Edwards led the way with 22 points, followed by 17 apiece for Hughes and May-Thompson. Williams bagged a 16 point/12 rebound double-double performance. 

Wolves will be on the road again next Saturday 5 October, at Bristol Flyers, before returning to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday 11 October to welcome London City Royals