WORCESTER Wolves host Sheffield Sharks tonight (7pm) aiming to secure a major advantage over their British Basketball League rivals.

Paul James’ side have already beaten the Yorkshiremen this season, 82-66 at the University of Worcester last month, and another victory would give them an unassailable lead in the head-to-head stakes with only March’s third meeting to play.

That could prove crucial by the end of the season with records between teams used to determine league position if they are level on points.

Director of basketball James said: “They’re going to be in the mix at the end of the season so it’s a very important game for us.

“It’s at home as well and we have always said we really want to make our home court a fortress.”

He added: “We played them a few weeks back and were able to come up with a good performance and in the end beat them fairly comfortably.

“They made a bit of a run at us towards the end but we pretty much controlled three-quarters of the game and they made some shots in the last few mintues to make it look closer than it actually was.

“It was a very controlled performance at both ends of the floor and that’s what we need to do.

“We perhaps need to slow things down and play a little differently, a bit more controlled and take less risks.”

Sheffield, who hosted Plymouth Raiders last night, have struggled in the early stages of the campaign and find themselves at the wrong end of the table.

Sharks forward Andrew Bridge knows his team will have to up their game from the last time they visited the Wolves. He said: “They’re a big team, bigger than us. They have three really big guys who all hurt us at different points last time.”