Plymouth Raiders 82, Worcester Wolves 89 (From Worcester News)

Plymouth Raiders 82, Worcester Wolves 89

8:30pm Sunday 11th December 2011 in Reports

DIRECTOR of basketball Paul James was impressed with how his Worcester Wolves side responded to their BBL Cup semi-final first-leg hiding to Plymouth Raiders.

The University of Worcester-based side ultimately crashed out of the competition because of their 111-83 home defeat on Saturday night, but restored some pride with an 89-82 success in the return leg at the Plymouth Pavilions yesterday.

Coach James said: “We achieved some respectability after Plymouth shot our lights out on Saturday night.

“Yesterday, our game plan was to go out hard and win the game whether by one point or 30. I am delighted we were able to do that.”

Wolves travelled down to the West Country for the second leg of their BBL Cup semi-final, still reeling from the previous day’s pounding.

However, as soon as the game tipped-off, Wolves were keen to redress the balance.

However, despite this, the Raiders claimed a 19-16 first-quarter advantage after the visitors’ Carlos Fernandez had began with seven quick points.

With the hosts resting their star man Jeremy Bell on bench in the second quarter, Wolves’ Sherrad Prezzie-Blue was left open to claim eight points, while Tommy Freeman landed the free-throws to leave the game tied at 39-39 at the half-time interval.

In the third quarter, Richie Gordon was dominant on the inside with eight points as Wolves pressed ahead to open up a 58-55 lead.

The final quarter was again all about Gordon as he claimed 16 points in that period alone to help director of basketball James’ side secure a face-saving 89-82 triumph.

Gordon led the Wolves scorers with 34 points, while Prezzie-Blue added 19 and Fernandez contibuted 15.

For Plymouth, who will face Newcastle Eagles in the final, Michael Ojo returned 23 points and he was well supported by Lehmon Colbert (22).