Worcester Wolves are just one win away from the National Basketball League playoff final after seeing off the London Stars 86-72 at the University of Worcester Arena on Saturday, writes Colin Taylor.
The victory came on the same day they were presented with the Division One North League Winners Shield in front of a home crowd.
London led 36-34 at half-time and, in a see-saw contest, still held a 54-53 edge at the start of the final quarter, only surrendering in the closing minutes of the evening.
The game started slowly for the Wolves, who failed to score for nearly four minutes while London quickly put up 10 points.
Humberto Ferreira sparked the home side with a three-point play and took a hand-off from Wilfrid Santhe to reduce the arrears.
Fin Rennie impressed the crowd with a behind-the-back pass for Earl Burgess to convert, narrowing the gap to 18-12 by the end of the first quarter.
Rennie supplied a burst of action to help push his side ahead. A corner-court triple was followed by a simple lay-up after intercepting an errant pass.
Once Harry Godwin had driven aggressively to the hoop it became 19-18 in favour of the hosts.
Emmanuel Yeboah debuted on the scoresheet with a three-pointer and Rennie again found his aim.
However, London’s veteran Ryan Martin sank a three on the halftime buzzer, leaving the visitors ahead at 36-34.
Yeboah slotted home a trio of further shots from beyond the arc as Worcester threatened to pull clear but, frustratingly, Martin was able to reply in kind on the last play of the third quarter to keep the pot boiling.
Martin again connected from distance to push the visitors in front as the last period commenced.
Godwin and Yeboah ensured the outside exchanges continued while, closer to the basket, Stars’ Bradley Kaboza displayed some of the moves that once earnt him a spot in London Lions’ Europe Cup squad to restrict Wolves’ to a 61-58 advantage with seven minutes to go.
But Yeboah’s hot hand refused to leave him, even seeming to inspire traditional inside-battler Burgess to step outside his usual territory to similarly connect.
With home confidence now oozing, one-way traffic ensued for the remainder of the match.
Yeboah led the scoring with 25 points, made up of a single free-throw and a stunning eight three-pointers from just ten attempts.
Burgess and Ferreira patrolled the paint to notch 19 and 17 points respectively, with the former also contributing a hefty 13 rebounds.
Kaboza with 25 points and Martin with 21 were London’s standout performers.
Dean Blake, head coach of Worcester Wolves, said: "We played with nerves at times today, but just as we’ve done many times this season, we settled down and we got into our rhythm.
"London have some very good players on their roster, including ex-professionals, so we had to stay focused to get the job done.
"Receiving the shield and medals for winning the league is recognition for a season of hard work from everyone involved with the Wolves and feels fantastic."
Wolves’ playoff semi-final is slated to take place on Saturday, April 11 (7.30pm) back at the University of Worcester Arena against either Manchester Magic or Barking Abbey.
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