Worcester Wolves held off a late push from the home side to come away with a 70-69 win at Stourport Spartans on Sunday.
Heading into the final quarter Wolves had a 12-point lead but that was reduced to just six by the final minute of play however the visitors were able to hang on, winning by a one-point margin.
The result leaves Wolves top of the National Basketball League - Midlands Division, having won all four of their games so far.
Coach Dean Blake was surprised by the fight shown by Wolves’ local rivals, who have won only once this season.
He said: “I was expecting a competitive game but, if I’m honest, I can’t say I was expecting it to be that close.
“We were making uncharacteristic unforced errors that Stourport capitalised on. We didn’t play to our best.
“Their fans got behind them and their confidence grew. But this sort of audience shouldn’t be anything new to our players with us turning out in front of big and noisy crowds back in Worcester.
“We need to concentrate on being more composed in certain situations.”
Wolves controlled the game early on with Wilfrid Santhe and Kieran Lee both shrugging off defenders to put the visitors 13-9 in front before Stourport’s Daniel Sargeant gave the home fans something to cheer about with an impressive slam.
Austin Payne made sure the Spartans faithful weren’t exuberant for too long, his trio of three-pointers leaving Wolves 19-13 ahead come the end of the first quarter.
In the second, Matei Balteanu put in work close to the hoop to help Wolves to a 36-28 half-time lead.
It was back and forth after the break, first Santhe dribbled through traffic to extend the visitors lead before Stourport’s Ronan Forbes replied with a rare four-point play when he was fouled as he sunk a shot from the top of the key.
The hosts continued to impress from distance, Sam Heafield scoring from beyond the arc to close the score to 38-35 to Wolves midway through the third.
However, Wolves were once again able to pull away, Balteanu controlling proceedings in the paint with Santhe conducting matters outside, they finished the match with 17 and 18 points respectively.
Poor free throws looked to be the demise of the visitors, with Wolves missed chances allowing Stourport back into the game.
Heafield dropped another triple to reduce the deficit to just three with 34 seconds remaining.
Unable to make the most of their next possession, Spartans hacked down Worcester guard Sergi Estanty to send him to the foul line.
Despite having missed his last four attempts, Estany was able to score when it mattered to give Wolves an important four-point cushion, enough to see them to victory despite a buzzer-beating three from James Turner.
Wolves are on the road again next week, visiting Derby Trailblazers on Sunday 14 November (4pm).
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