WORCESTER Wolves went into 2012 as joint leaders of the British Basketball League after an impressive away victory.

As well as avenging a heavy loss at the same venue a month ago, the triumph went some way towards atoning for a disappointing home defeat to Leicester Riders 48 hours earlier.

Wolves dominated the opening exchanges as they raced out of the blocks to leave the hosts trailing in their wake.

Led by strong close-to-the-basket moves from Richie Gordon and accurate long-range shooting from Tommy Freeman and Arnas Kazlauskas, they surged into a 17-4 lead inside the first five minutes.

In serious peril of being blown away early on, Lions needed guard Demarius Bolds to keep them in contention with a three-pointer as the first quarter ended 28-20 to the visitors.

In the second period, Freeman and Gordon made hay for Wolves. Leading 38-26 after three minutes of the quarter, the duo combined for 29 of those points.

Lions pulled matters back to 50-44 but the Wolves cushion eased back out to 54-44 after club captain Callum Jones’ first basket and an emphatic power dunk from Gordon.

After a late time-out, Sherrad Prezzie-Blue galloped half-the-court to lay in a deft basket, taking Worcester to a 56-46 interval advantage.

Lions came roaring back with a quick-fire 15-7 burst which reduced the gap to 63-61 mid-way through the third quarter.

By the end of the period, both Gordon and Kazlauskas were flirting with danger having committed four of their five permitted fouls.

Although still leading 76-72 at the quarter buzzer, Prezzie-Blue joined his team-mates on four fouls when awarded a technical foul from referee Keith Williams.

Nuno Pedroso made the subsequent two free-throws to bring Milton Keynes within a couple of points at 76-74. However, back-to-back outside scores from Prezzie-Blue and Freeman swiftly quelled any Lions momentum.

Any final resistance was put down when Freeman took a charge with the score at 94-86 and four minutes left.

The travelling Wolves fans were further delighted when Gordon rose high to block a dunk attempt in the last couple of minutes with his side 99-88 in front.

The 103-92 final outcome was sealed from the free-throw line as Lions vainly attempted to slow down the clock.

Gordon recorded a double-double of 29 points and 16 rebounds, while Prezzie-Blue also doubled up on his statistics with 16 and 10 respectively. Bolds (33) and Pedroso (21) led the scoring for Lions.

Wolves now take a two-week break from action before opening 2012 with a trip to Mersey Tigers on Friday, January 13.

They return home to the University of Worcester the day after to meet Durham Wildcats (7pm).