THE return of “hard-nosed” Andrew Bachman has given Worcester Wolves a “great boost”, says head coach Paul James.

Bachman came off the bench to help Wolves see out their first victory in five matches, beating Leeds Force 91-77 last Friday.

It was the 22-year-old’s first appearance since recovering from a rib injury which ruled him out of their previous three British Basketball League fixtures.

But James said he had no doubts Bachman would hit the ground running at the Carnegie Sports Centre.

“He is like a microwave as he’s hot from the word go,” he said.

That proved to be the case as he landed five triples in a 15-point haul which James felt helped to “ease the pressure” on his players.

“He can really stretch the defence and, if we are doing that, it makes things easier for everybody else,” James continued.

“To have a player like him coming off the bench is tremendous.”

Bachman joined Wolves from Tiffin College in the summer and James has been impressed with how well he has settled.

The 6ft 6in guard-forward averages 14 points per game having scored 20 or more in four of his nine games this term.

“Andrew trains hard, plays hard and brings a lot to the team,” James said.

“He is just a really hard-nosed player and someone who can shoot the ball well, so having him back is a great boost.”

Recent recruit Maurice Walker continued his stunning start at Wolves with a hat-trick of personal double-doubles.

The Canadian scored 17 points and made 10 rebounds in Worcester’s much-needed victory over Leeds.

James says they are a “happier team” ahead of their home clash against bottom side Bristol Flyers on Friday night (7.30pm).

“Mo has given us that inside presence we have been looking for all season,” James said.

“That allows everybody to play in the positions they are supposed to be playing in, so now we are looking at players having quality minutes rather than quantity of minutes.

“It has been tough (for players to play out of position). They can do it for a certain amount of time but after a while you are not taking the shots you really want to take and you are guarding somebody you probably would not normally be guarding.

“The longer that goes on the more frustrating it can get but now we have got people back playing where they should be, so I think we are going to be a happier team.”