WORCESTER Wolves put up a highly impressive performance to go down 96-87 to Birmingham Bullets in their final pre-season basketball friendly.
The people of Worcester turned up in their hundreds as the Wolves did battle against one of England's most successful teams.
Wolves fielded several new recruits in the form of Ty Shaw, Wayne Robinson, Luke Somerville and Dave Jones. Dean Blake was still recovering from a back injury, and will have to wait for his home debut.
Bullets included 6ft 11in England international Danny Craven, fellow England ace Steve Hansell and their four new American signings.
The game started at a frantic pace, yet it was Wolves who raced into an early lead with Colin Chiverton and Shaw penetrating against the bigger Bullets forwards.
Craven was eager to respond and despite the close attention of Shaw managed to get some points on the board for Bullets.
Rick Solvason was introduced and immediately found his range to keep Wolves on course. Hansell began to find his form and as Wolves ran into foul trouble with Chiverton and Shaw being forced to the bench, Bullets established a 51-33 lead at half-time.
The second half started with a fiery response from the home team with Wayne Robinson excelling at point guard.
Josh Cooprider came out of a subdued spell to score a long range three-pointer, and Solvason also shot well to reduce the deficit to 12 points going into the final quarter.
The home crowd were inspired by the Wolves fightback and the energy generated by the charismatic Shaw gave the game a great edge.
Shaw and Chiverton continued to cause Bullets problems, yet the illustrious visitors hung on to their slender lead.
The home crowd cheered the new-look Wolves off the court after a very impressive performance.
Highlights included a slam-dunk by Chiverton over two 6ft 10ins Birmingham players and a long range three-pointer from impressive American Shaw.
Director of Basketball Mick Donovan said: "A large crowd witnessed a very determined performance from our team. We can now build on this and take it into our league campaign.
"Ty Shaw brings the passion we have lacked and has tremendous potential. Our other new players also looked impressive with Wayne Robinson performing well."
Shaw top scored with 29 points, followed by Solvason (18) and Chiverton (18).
Wolves open their National League Division Two fixtures at Tamar Valley on Saturday.
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