WORCESTER Wolves director of basketball Paul James has admitted his side’s defence was to blame after they crashed to their first defeat of the season against Manchester Giants.
Former Wolves star David Watts haunted his old side as he converted six long distance baskets to help the Giants battle to a surprise 93-83 victory.
The defeat ended Wolves’ 100 per cent winning run after gaining victories over Newcastle Eagles and Cheshire Phoenix in their first two league games of the new campaign.
But James expressed his disappointment after Wolves let a good start slip away from their grasps at the Trafford Multisport Arena failing to build on a once held 48-33 advantage.
“We were cruising at the start because we were playing team basketball, both on offence and defence but there was a collective collapse in the second quarter and we were unable to get back to the level we started at,” he said.
“Giants were inspired. They played hard, they made tough shots and everything was falling for them.
“We need to go back to practice and work harder. We scored enough points to win today but our defence let us down.”
Wolves looked set for a third straight win when the likes of Jamal Williams and Robert Thurman helped the visitors to an early lead against their opponents.
But an explosion of three-pointers from Watts changed the game and ignited a turnaround which propelled the hosts to just a single point deficit at the half time whistle.
And Manchester carried on their momentum after the break as Stefan Gill put the hosts ahead before Watts and teammate Callum Jones proved too hot for Wolves to handle as the home side sealed a deserved ten-point win.
Wolves return to action on Friday, October 17 when they will look to get back to winning ways when they face Surrey United at home.