WORCESTER Wolves climbed to the top of BBL Championship table last night (Thursday) following a dramatic overtime victory over the London Lions.
Wolves were pushed all the way in their first visit to London’s Copper Box Arena – one of the venue’s in last year’s Olympic Games – but came through a thrilling 63-62 success to earn their third successive league win.
Paul James’ side looked to be heading for their first defeat of the season when they trailed in the last minute of normal time but managed to claw their way back to level terms before winning the close contest via the extra five-minute period.
The first quarter saw the beginnings of what would prove to be a long battle between the sides with defence very much on top. But it was Wolves who had the better of the first ten minutes leading 20-16.
Wolves extended their lead at the start of the second period to 29-18 thanks to some clever and sharp play by Will Creekmore. Alex Owumi then hit a few baskets to give Wolves a ten-point advantage at half time following a brief rally from the home side.
The third quarter proved a tight affair and Wolves struggled to get their offensive play flowing after Zaire Taylor suffered a worrying fall. London Lions took advantage to reduce their deficit to just 45-41 going into the final quarter.
But Wolves’ slender lead evaporated in the opening stages when Matthew Bryan-Amaning turned defence into attack several times and helped put his side ahead with just three minutes left on the clock.
A further two points from Julius Joseph resulted in Paul James calling a time-out to help spring his team into action. And James’ brief team talk did the trick as Wolves hit back from 56-51 behind to level the scores and force the match into overtime.
Worcester’s momentum carried over to when it mattered as a crucial three-pointer from a revitalised Taylor and a confident spin from Owumi helped the visitors to a significant advantage which the Lions failed to recover from.
Wolves will be hoping to make it four wins out of four tonight (Friday) when they entertain the Cheshire Phoenix.
