HEAD coach Paul James admitted his players let the occasion get the better of them as Worcester Wolves lost 94-88 to Newcastle Eagles in the semi-finals of the BBL Trophy.

Trailing by seven points from the first leg, James was hopeful his side would overcome the visitors and secure their place at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

However, Wolves never recovered from a flat start as Newcastle refused to relinquish their lead once they got in front.

And James felt his team gave “too much respect” to the Eagles who ran out comfortable winners at the University of Worcester Arena.

“We are really disappointed with the outcome,” said James, whose side lost 167-154 on aggregate.

“In the first half, I don’t think we were as aggressive as I would have expected us to be.

“We dug ourselves into a bit of a hole.

“In the second half, we gave ourselves a glimmer of hope, but even then, when we got back, we ended up turning ball over on a three-on-one situation.”

Having defeated Newcastle by a 14-point margin in the British Basketball League last month, Wolves would have been looking for a repeat of that display in front of their home fans.

However, Rahmon Fletcher helped establish a 28-18 lead. And this was a 10-point deficit they maintained as a succession of three-pointers from Andy Thomson and Joseph Chapman kept Wolves at arm’s length.

The hosts, meanwhile, struggled to land shots from distance as Orlan Jackman, Disraeli Lufadeji and Jay Couisnard saw their efforts bounce off the rim.

Losing 57-47 at half-time, Worcester had it all to do and matters got worse at the start of the third quarter as Newcastle opened up a 22-point gap, with Fletcher scoring regularly and Chapman landing crucial triples.

But with Ben Eaves looking back to his best and Couisnard working hard, Wolves managed to claw themselves back.

Mistakes were costing the home side, though, as Lufadeju intercepted the ball before a bad pass gifted Newcastle possession and they were punished to take an 87-70 lead.

Couisnard and Jackman landed free throws in the final four minutes.

But it was too little too late for Wolves as heavy scoring from Fletcher (25), Thomson (24), Chapman (19) and Charles Smith (18) sealed Newcastle’s victory.

Eaves top scored for Worcester (15), while Couisnard and Jackman had 14 apiece.