Worcester reach the summit

It was a battle of the point guards at the University of Worcester and as the final buzzer sounded the ball was in the hands of the happier of the two men. Sherrad Prezzie-Blue’s 24 points had helped his side to a 77-76 win at the death.

It was a win that handed Plymouth their first championship defeat and gave Worcester their eighth win on the bounce, their second consecutive weekend of back to back wins and four out of four in the league.

Starting fives:

Wolves – Freeman, Fernandez, Prezzie-Blue, Gordon and Kaslauskas.
Raiders – James Jones, Williams, Rowe, Colbert and Bell.

The game opened up at a fast pace that was to be sustained with Plymouth’s passing slicker early on. That said it didn’t make them any more productive as Worcester’s defence and particularly Richie Gordon found their feet quickly. Gordon came up with a big block and a great steal which allowed Fernandez to drop two on Raiders. Both point guards stood out but Bell was guilty of doing too much on occassion with one pass too many when the shot was on. Another Gordon steal gave him the opportunity to add to the score and in a close game a quick burst from Worcester had given them a four point lead on Plymouth.

Fernandez was subbed out with two minutes left in the quarter after a good opening spell and six points for his side.

Worcester maintained a 4-6 point lead as the sides traded baskets and good use of the bench allowed Callum Jones and others to keep the energy levels high. That energy and a solid D gave the home side a 17-11 lead after ten.

As we started the second Bell came up short and Williams was well marshalled by Worcester allowing Wolves to extend their lead to 9 with baskets from Jones and Watts.

In what was a great atmosphere on campus, the officials were getting plenty from the vociferous crowd for the lack of calls going their way.

A clever play from Gordon throwing up a shot with the foul coming got him two from the line, but one area of Worcester’s game that was not going to plan was that from beyond the arc. A timeout was called by Coach James as the Wolves led by 6.

Michael Ojo was Plymouth’s best player at this stage in the game and he took the extra from the line for a three point play to halve the defecit.

Callum Jones then took the ball past his brother, scored the lay up and James made the contact giving Worcester’s captain the chance to take three points from the play. Plymouth’s big men were still unable to find a way through and Colbert fouled trying to find some room. Throughout this game, whenever Plymouth looked to be getting back on terms a big play from Worcester would keep them at arms length. On this occassion it was Kaslauskas finally finding his range from three.

Worcester’s Jones was subbed out after a great spell and Freeman got his chance in the open and drained one from long range. That play seemed to kick start him but following some clever play he took a hard hit to the floor, stood up to take one from two then sat down for treatment.

Plymouth had spent most of their time in possession at the line in the quarter and the home fans were doing a great job of putting the Raiders players off. In 29 attempts in the whole game, Plymouth took just less than half shooting 48%. Inconsistent calling got the crowd riled again as it seemed Plymouth had interfered with the ball on its way down to their basket but no call was made. On the next play a technical was called against Gordon for the same violation.

Excellent defence had helped the Wolves to a 38-30 lead at the half.

A very quick and physical start to the second half saw the Raiders almost wipe out the defecit. Bell was not quite hitting everything but a nice two got the Raiders back within two.

Worcester called a timeout to regroup but on returning to the court they were still wasting possession and Williams got to the basket to level things up. Another big three was Worcester’s response again as Prezzie-Blue continued to lead the charge. Freeman was subbed as he got in to foul trouble and noticeably Plymouth’s forwards were getting more joy in their opponent’s paint. That combined with good work from Bell saw Raiders take the lead for the first time in the game.

Willams and Gordon was a fascinating matchup to watch as the game continued to be a close contest in the third. Gordon was getting the edge and his presence forced a travelling violation from Williams as he tried to find a way past. The center then tried to get one over on Williams at the opposite end of the court, but he walked away smiling at his less than convincing attempt.

Both sides traded baskets before another big effort from Worcester’s point guard. Jones ghosted in and passed the ball to Sherrad who made no mistake from downtown. The calls from the officials were going Wolves way as the crowd’s efforts may have been having an effect.

A big minute followed from Prezzie-Blue in which several plays took Worcester back out to a six point lead. The third was another great ten for Wolves with Gordon the agitator and Prezzie-Blue going toe to toe with Plymouth. The score was 60-53 Wolves with ten left. If Wolves could match the Raiders down the stretch they would earn an impressive victory.

The last quarter opened up with two successive blocks from Gordon on Williams. Bell was lively and was clawing Plymouth back in to the game. With just over five minutes left on the game clock the scores were level at 62.

After a timeout Worcester took to the court again with James trusting his starting five to get the job done. A lovely alley-oop between Prezzie-Blue and Gordon allowed the latter to dunk it on Plymouth.

Worcester’s Director of Basketball looked incredulous as a foul was called against his defence that he (and the crowd) didn’t agree with. Prezzie-Blue was now in a tussle with Anthony Martin who stole the ball from the Worcester point guard but was then taken out on his way to the hoop. This passage of play resulted in Martin taking points from the free throw line and the Raiders taking a 4 point lead as time was running out.

Fernandez took two, Ojo missed a wild three then Gordon took it to the house. What is probably Worcester’s best defence was out there but Raiders kept finding room. A big two from Gordon levelled the game and he got the chance for the extra point to take a one point lead. He missed the shot but as the groans circled, an infringement was called and he took the second chance he was given for a 71-70 score line in the home sides favour. Less than two minutes remianed in the game.

That one point lead changed hands several times with good work from Prezzie-Blue and Bell. With just ten seconds left it was Plymouth that held the advantage. Fittingly it was left to these two impressive guards to settle. Sherrad regained the lead for Wolves and as Plymouth gave it to their go to man Bell again, he failed to convert and Worcester won the game.

The result sees Worcester sharing top spot in the league with three other teams after four championship games.

Worcester Wolves 77 (17,38,60) Prezzie-Blue 24, Gordon 16, Kazlauskas 11.
UCP Marjon Plymouth Raiders 76 (11,30,53) Bell 24, Rowe 18, Willams 10.