WORCESTER Wolves face a spell of four away games after ending 2015 in style with a 79-75 home win over bogey side London Lions.

The stretch of British Basketball League matches on the road begins at Surrey Scorchers on Saturday, then Bristol Flyers and Cheshire Phoenix the following weekend and ends at Sheffield Sharks on January 15.

Wolves return to the University of Worcester Arena on Friday, January 22, for a mouth-watering clash with unbeaten leaders Newcastle Eagles.

Head coach Paul James said: “We couldn’t have had a better way to end the year.

“Those last few minutes provided a spectacle that kept people on the edge of their seats. We stayed with our game and kept believing we could win.

“It will be a massive game against Newcastle. We always have good contests against them.

“But before that we have quite a spell away from Worcester. We had great support against London to help us over the line.

“This away series will show what we are about in performing away from our own crowd and creating our own atmosphere and spirit.”

Javier Mugica led the way for Wolves with a performance James described as “outrageous”.

Playing the entire 40 minutes, the Spanish forward tallied 20 points and pulled down a huge 17 rebounds.

Pavol Losonsky put forward 16 points, while Ashton Khan and Orlan Jackman contributed 14 and 12 respectively.

James said: “Javi was superb, outrageous even. He is just getting better and better with every game he plays.”

Wolves entertained a large crowd after holding the lead through large parts but never by a comfortable margin.

With seven minutes to play, Lions edged 62-60 ahead before they extended the advantage to 75-69.

Then guard Khan let fly with a long-distance effort that dropped through the net, prompting a Lions time-out.

From the restart, a wayward pass from ex-Wolves forward Jamal Williams was pounced on by Jackman, setting up another basket for Khan.

Within seconds, Jackman harried Williams into another error, this time leading to a score for Jay Couisnard to regain the lead at 77-75.

A double of free throws from Mugica sealed the win.

Three-year Worcester stalwart Alex Owumi was warmly applauded on his return to the city with his new employers but Wolves led 14-13 at the end of the first quarter.

The second period continued in a similar vein with neither side able to pull clear.

Owumi made the second and third of his five three-pointers, while Losonsky and Mugica provided the bulk of Worcester’s output.

Dangerous centre Demond Watt allowed Lions to roar back into contention and set the scene for the final drama.