Ocitti & Owumi combine for 40 as Wolves worsen Giants woes

Manchester Giants suffered their second consecutive defeat after following a double-digit defeat at the hands of the Worcester Wolves, 75-88.

Stanley Ocitti and Alex Owumi scored 20 points apiece for the visitors as they beat the Giants for the second time this season. Worcester took the lead midway through the second period as they knocked down four of their six shot attempts from three-point range with four different players dialling in from long-distance. The visitors moved the ball well all night finishing with 17 assists; they also out-rebounded their hosts 36-32.

Starting Fives

Manchester Giants – Bailey, Jones, George, Watts, Bernard
Worcester Wolves – Fernandez, Masiulis, Owumi, Ocitti, Williams

Nick George led the way for the Giants with 18 points before fouling out with four minutes left to play in the contest and his side down by 17. He had four points in the opening period as the home-side made a bright start and took an early 13-8 lead following his jumper with 3:15 left in the first quarter. The Wolves responded with a 7-0 run to put them in front as Ocitti knocked down a 3-pointer and a shot from the wing followed by an Owumi jump-shot from the corner.

The Giants found their 3-point stroke in the second quarter as David Watts connected from downtown and then Stefan Gill came off the bench and drained down back-to-back triples to give the hosts a 26-23 with 7:18 remaining in the half but they were unable to get stops at the defensive end as the Wolves put up 28 points in the period as they made seven of their 11 attempts from the field and eight of 10 from the free-throw line.

Following the second 3-pointer by Gill the visitors reeled off ten unanswered points capped by Owumi’s driving layup to give his side a 33-26 lead with just over five minutes left in the half. Mike Bernard stopped the run with a short hook in the lane but the Wolves continued to be the more aggressive of the two sides as they went on 6-0 run with Owumi getting to the free-throw line four times before Arturas Masiulis nailed a jumper on the baseline to give the visitors a 39-28 advantage. George converted a difficult layup for the hosts but the Wolves didn’t miss a beat as Arnas Kazlauskas made a pair from the line before Masiulis put-back his own missed shot for a 43-30 advantage. The visitors were well into their comfort zone at this point and Ocitti drilled the visitor’s sixth triple of the half with 20 seconds left to give them a 46-34 lead at the interval.

The Giants offence stalled in the third quarter as they only made five of their 21 field goal attempts and attempted just two free-throws. The home-side scored the opening basket of the quarter but they once again came under a barrage of pressure from the visitors who scored eight unanswered points; all from close range as Masiulis and Ocitti owned the paint.

George tried his best to get his side back into the game; scoring six points as part of an 8-3 run to pull the Giants within 44-57 with 5:23 to go in the quarter. However the home-side were held scoreless over the next three minutes and the visitors scored 10 straight as their lead ballooned to 24 points after Kai Williams’ fast-break layup with 2:23 left in the third.

A long two from George put an end to the Wolves run but Ocitti had a dunk and another layup to give his side a colossal 72-46 lead with one quarter left to play.

With their backs firmly pressed against the wall the Giants showed a tremendous amount of character in the fourth as they poured in 32 points after scoring just 45 in the first three periods. Ben Eaves scored nine of his 11 points in the quarter and Mike Bernard added six points as they made their presence felt in the middle. The home-side scored 12 unanswered points to cut the lead to 63-80 with 3:25 left in the game but after a turnover by the Giants Devan Bailey, Owumi latched onto the loose ball and knocked down a 3-pointer to give the visitors a 20-point lead with three minutes left in the game to put the result beyond doubt. There was another show of defiance bringing the deficit to just 12 points, but Worcester had the final say, ending the game 75-88.

The loss leaves the Giants in 10th place just two points behind the London Lions in the eighth and final playoff spot. Their next game will be against the third place Surrey Heat who they defeated at home just a couple of weeks ago. The Playoff race looks to be tighter than ever with only two points separating 7th place and 11th in the standings. The Giants must maintain their poise as they head into this critical point of the season with everything still to play for.

Play of the Game

Owumi’s steal and 3-pointer to put the Wolves up by 20 with 3 minutes left was the back-breaker after the Giants had put together a 14-2 run to re-energise their home fans. The Giants scored seven straight afterwards but it was too little too late.

Game MVP

Stanley Ocitti – The veteran power forward topped the 20 point mark for the first time in 2013 with and also added 10 rebounds in 32 minutes of action. He scored 10 points in the third period as the Wolves opened up a massive 28 point gap over their hosts which allowed them to coast home to victory. He showed a soft touch around the basket and finished well inside as well as knocking down two of three from long distance.

Top Scorers:

Manchester Giants – Nick George 18, Stefan Gill 12, Mike Bernard / Ben Eaves / David Watts 11
Worcester Wolves – Alex Owumi 20, Stanley Ocitti 20, Arnas Kazlauskas 15

Up Next:

Manchester Giants – Surrey Heat, Friday 8th February, 7:30pm, Wright Robinson High School
Worcester Wolves – Newcastle Eagles, Friday 8th February, 7:30pm, Sport Central