IT was a crucial game for both teams in the battle for the British Basketball League play-off positions and Worcester Wolves managed to beat Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 67-66 in a tense match.

The win saw Wolves draw level in ninth place with the Riders.

Wolves cruised through the first quarter to lead 27-10 with the home side's main offensive threat coming from James Life and Anthony Paez.

Charles Evans was orchestrating affairs from the point guard position, while Skouson Harker and Shaun Durant were dominating the rebounding at both ends of the court.

Paez was on the end of an alley-oop' to open the second stanza and Wolves soon led 33-14, which then became 42-16 after Ivan Brosko was forced off with an injured ankle. At this stage, all of the Wolves players were making contributions offensively as the hosts appeared to be coasting to a much-needed win.

However, a drastic turnaround ensued two minutes before the half-time interval as the Riders scored the last 12 points of the first-half and a Rod Wellington three-pointer on the buzzer made the score 42-28. Wolves should have been going into the break on a high, yet it was the visitors who, despite trailing, had the momentum The Riders carried their momentum into the third period as they opened with the first seven points and, after seven minutes, they were down just 46-41.

The visitors then scored the next six points to take the lead and complete their comeback from a 17-point deficit -in what was an amazing 31-4 run across two quarters.

Paez ensured that Wolves ended the quarter in front as he stole the ball and ran clear to finish with a dunk. However, the alarming rate of missed scoring opportunities and turnovers by the home team had the large number of visiting Leicester fans sensing a remarkable win The Riders started the decisive quarter strongly and after a Life triple tied the game at 51, the away team pushed it back out to 55-51.

Paez then made one from two at the foul line before taking another steal and finishing once more with a dunk to narrow the gap to one.

The teams then traded runs as the Riders rattled off five points before a Life free-throw capped seven unanswered points and saw the hosts regain the lead at 61-60.

With 10 seconds left, Life kept his cool at the free-throw line after being fouled on the inbounds and the Riders tried to get off the final shot, but Joel Burns failed to do so under defensive pressure from Paez.

It was Paez who was the hero as he notched 23 points, with Harker contributing a double-double of 12 points and 12 rebounds. The ever-reliant Durant made a season-high 18 rebounds which could be even more significant as Wolves now have to wait for the medical report on the injured Brosko.