WORCESTER Wolves were on the right end of a high-scoring National Basketball League Division Two encounter with Doncaster Eagles at the University of Worcester Arena on Saturday night.

Wolves came up against former player David Watts, who has been brought out of retirement by the Eagles, and it was a throwback display from the big, who scored 41 points. But it was not enough to deny Wolves victory on an entertaining evening.

After a back-and-forth first half Wolves swept into a comfortable 65-48 third quarter lead before the visiting Eagles had their own hot streak, closing the gap to just 75-71 as the period wound down, before a surge of outside shooting allowed Worcester to finally pull away to victory.

Coach Dean Blake summarised the contest, saying: "I’m pleased that we were able to put so many points on the board – we needed a game like this for our confidence. On the other hand, I’d have liked to have kept Doncaster to fewer points, but hey we got the win."

The experienced Watts won the tip-off, blocking a Worcester attack and then bagged his team’s first six points.

Humberto Ferreira stepped up as a steadying influence for the hosts, driving confidently to the hoop and taking a double of assists from fellow forward Emmanuel Yeboah to aid a 26-24 advantage by the last seconds of the opening quarter.

But Watts displayed his veteran savvy in setting a hard screen to provide plenty of space for teammate Kieran Wright to sink a buzzer-beating three-pointer and put Eagles in front.

Ferreira provided an array of passes to set up baskets for Worcester big men Matei Balteanu and Tom Grayling, pushing the home side into a 53-45 half-time lead.

Aryan Davoodi wowed fans with a coast-to-coast thrust when maximising Wolves early third-period control before Doncaster commenced their fightback.

The final quarter saw the sides dragged apart after a sudden explosion of three-pointers. Wilfrid Santhe successes sandwiched rat-a-tat perimeter points from Yeboah and James Turner hopped off the bench to contribute towards a stunning eight triples in as many minutes.

Afterward, ex-Wolves man reflected on his impressive night's work against his old team: "I’d love to say I scored that number of points on purpose but I honestly didn’t," joked Watts.

"I was here when the University Arena was a building site, with my hard hat on and a hi-vis vest, but never actually played here in Wolves colours. It’s been great to come back, retracing my steps from when I was living in Worcester all those years back,” he continued.

"I’m thinking about maybe playing on into next season but I’ve got to see how my body can hold up at 40 years old."

Blake added praise for Watts’ display, saying: "He’s an amazing player, so skilled. I knew he’d be a handful – I spoke about him to our players all week, so what he did didn’t surprise me."

Wolves travel to Bristol Academy Flyers next Saturday 03 February (5pm) before returning to the University of Worcester Arena the following Saturday to welcome Leicester Warriors.