Impressive Wolves stun Newcastle to reach Trophy semi-finals - The Worcester Observer

Impressive Wolves stun Newcastle to reach Trophy semi-finals

Worcester Editorial 24th Feb, 2014 Updated: 19th Oct, 2016   0

WORCESTER Wolves’ hopes of landing silverware this season were given a huge boost after a brilliant win over the Newcastle Eagles saw them reach the last four of the BBL Trophy.

Wolves will take on Sheffield Sharks in a two-legged semi-final next month with victory meaning they will play in the competition’s grand final at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow after the impressive 86-73 win on Friday night.

The game was much in the balance for most of the match before Wolves turned it on in the final quarter scoring 18 unanswered points to give them a decisive lead in the quarter-final tie.

Wolves’ director of basketball Paul James was ecstatic about the result and was proud of the way his players took the game to the Newcastle Eagles.




“It was an absolutely marvellous performance,” he said.

“We stuck to our game plan, we shared the ball around, and it all paid off with the win. The character shown by the players was tremendous.


“Our so-called ‘big three’ of Alex (Owumi), Will (Creekmore) and Zaire (Taylor) will always do what they do, but we also need other players to make their mark and Jamal certainly did that. He was red-hot in the last quarter, with some fabulous moves.”

Contributions from Kalil Irving, Kai and Jamal Williams were the highlights of the opening quarter which saw Wolves close it with a ten-point lead at 30-20.

Newcastle began the second quarter well with player-coach Fab Flournoy opening his account on the scoreboard before Darius Defoe and Paul Gause reduced their deficit to just two points. But Zaire Taylor helped Wolves regain back some control as they took a 47-40 halftime lead.

The second half saw the Eagles fly into action as the baskets of Charles Smith and Defoe helped the hosts go into the final quarter with a slender lead at 60-56.

But Wolves came out of the blocks in remarkable style as trio Will Creekmore, Alex Owumi and Jamal Williams stunned the hosts with relentless scoring as Wolves took control before seeing out a commanding 13-point win.

And the club made it an even better weekend just 24 hours later when they strengthened their chances of winning the BBL Championship with an emphatic 117-60 win over bottom-of-the-table Birmingham Knights.

Wolves have now won 14 games on the bounce in all competitions.

Advertising

Advertise with the Worcester Observer to reach your audience

Buy Photos

Buy photos online from the Worcester Observer newspaper.

Business Directory

From plumbers, to restaurants, we can provide you with all the info you need.

Subscribe

Receive a weekly update to your inbox by signing up to our weekly newsletter.