Bristol Flyers 74-87 Worcester Wolves.

Saturday 24 October 2020

Worcester Wolves made a triumphant return to the court for their first outing since March when travelling to Bristol Flyers for a pre-season friendly on Saturday.

Wolves powered to a 78-54 lead entering the final quarter and fended off a late Bristol fightback to secure an 87-74 victory.

Returning Dutch guard Maarten Bouwknecht led all scorers with 28 points in a performance that his coach Matt Newby labelled “cold-blooded”.

Stalwart forward Jordan Williams and new recruit Micah Elan tallied 16 points apiece while another debutant Josh McSwiggan contributed a dozen.

It was Elan who had the honour of setting the scoreboard ticking after dispossessing his opponent at mid-court.

Bouwknecht then hit a quick double of shots before making way for Nathan Ramsdale-Owen to connect from distance on his first touch of the ball, moving Worcester 12-9 in front after four minutes had elapsed.

As the quarter ended Bouwknecht floated home what would be the first of four pre-half-time three-pointers for a 27-18 advantage. Elan mirrored his backcourt partner’s feat to extend the visitor’s advantage to 52-40 by the interval.

There would be no let-up after the break as Bristol struggled to discourage Wolves’ outside accuracy and had similar difficulty in containing the inside strength of Williams and his fellow forward Daniel Johnson-Thompson.

Flyers finally flickered to life with a 9-0 run to begin the last period but were again brought to book when Bouwknecht once more came to the fore in pinpointing McSwiggan under the basket for an easy score.

80-69 with four minutes to go was as near as matters got before Worcester closed out the win.

“It was great to be back out on the floor, it’s been a long time coming,” said Newby.

“Bristol are a well-coached and a well-organised team so it’s really pleasing that we got a positive outcome from today’s game.”

Newby was keen to applaud the efforts of his players, saying: “Micah and Josh both had great debuts and showed great professionalism.

“The complimentary input of our University of Worcester students was very pleasing and Maarten had the sort of performance that you need from your captain. He was cold-blooded throughout.”

The British Basketball League is scheduled to begin next weekend. In regards to Wolves’ next fixture Newby added: “We’re awaiting confirmation from the league about government support. Once everything is assured we’ll be looking to get out on the floor again.

“It’s just a case of getting everything organised and co-ordinated so that we can try and fit in a further match.”

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