Another big night for the Worcester Wolves

Played out in front of a packed venue, it proved to be a real festive treat for the play-caller.

“It was a great game in front of a big crowd,” smiled James. “We knew in the second half we needed to keep them down to 30-35 points to give ourselves a chance.

“We shot ball really well and shot with confidence.

“Every team needs a player like Jamal Williams who plays wherever I want him to,” added the coach on BBLTV after watching his forward claim 12 points and 12 boards.

He continued, “Paul Guede takes us to another level defensively, but he needs to be a bit more aggressive offensively, although it’s his first game.

“That’s what we pay him to do,” is how James referred to Alex Owumi making the big shots down the stretch and turning the tide in Worcester’s favour.

“You really don’t want ball in anyone else’s hands and I am happy because we had lost two on the bounce and we wanted to get back on track.”

Quote of the week

I’m expecting another tough game and the league is very tough. There are a lot of teams in the top echelon that are making it very difficult for each other, apart from Newcastle, who are putting some daylight between them and everyone else. Rob Thurman has proved himself to be a strong BBL player and Alex Owumi at home in the backcourt is exceptionally good for Worcester.Vince Macaulay, Lions’ Head Coach

Eagles continue to sweep all before them

Worcester Wolves shrugged off the absence of star centre Robert Thurman to collect a thrilling road victory against their title rivals in front of a full house at Loughborough.

In a pulsating game shown live on BBLTV, Wolves put a dent in the BBL Championship prospect of Riders while boosting their own chances of success as they collected arguably their most impressive victory of the campaign.

A 17 & 8 night for Owumi

They will certainly enjoy Christmas a little better after avoiding a potential third straight loss to claim the win, with a string of fine displays from Chavis Holmes and Alex Owumi who combined for 37 points, while Jamal Williams claimed a double-double.

Bolstered and boosted by the arrival of Great Britain veteran, Paul Guede the Wolves finished the first quarter strongly to take a 30-22 lead.

While Riders came roaring back to tie the scores, helped by some spectacular high flying plays by TrayVonn Wright, Wolves till held the upper hand 52-43 at the break after finishing the half with nine consecutive points.

A big triple from Remi Dibo on the shot clock buzzer from deep kept Wolves on top at 61-53 and they extended the advantage to double-digits during the third quarter.

But with little more than five minutes left on the game clock, Riders had completed a stunning fightback as firstly Conner Washington converted from downtown to lock the game up, while moments later Tyler Bernardini also nailed one from distance to give the hosts an 80-76 lead.

With Dibo having fouled out, it looked ominous for Wolves, but five straight points from Owumi got their noses back in front and the pendulum swinging back the way of the visitors.

Both teams had further leads, but Worcester were able to get the job done from the free-throw line during crunch time for an entertaining win.

Wright recorded a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds for Riders, with Neil Watson adding 11 assists.