Surrey show guts in OT win in Worcester

Q. What do the Surrey Heat and the Three Little Pigs have in common?
A. Both stayed strong while the Wolf ran out of puff.

The Surrey Heat overcame a late deficit in regulation to tie the game on a Cricelli three before beating the Worcester Wolves 97-91 in overtime to stay third in the league and remain in contention for the title.

It was Worcester who started the game the stronger of the two sides, ending the first quarter 23-17 up behind a balanced offense that saw five players get on the score sheet.

But the second quarter was owned by the visting Heat, who outscored their opponents by 13 to take a 45-38 lead heading into the half, a lead which was held until the fourth period when a pair of Fernandez free throws tied the game up at 69. And two possessions later, a Stanley Ocitti three gave the Wolves their first lead since midway through the second period at 72-69.

With time running out and Worcester up 83-80, the ball found it’s way into the hands of the Heat’s Samuel Cricelli, who drained a clutch three from the top of the arc to tie the game at 83 and send the contest to overtime.

In the extra period, Chavis Holmes took control, scoring seven of the Heat’s 14 OT points to help his side claim their 14th league win of the season. The loss for Worcester was only their second loss in six games after their mini-December revival.

Alex Owumi led all scorers with 30 points, while 22 points for Samuel Cricelli and 21 points for Chavis Holmes led the way for Surrey.

Next up: Worcester travel to Manchester to face the Giants, while Surrey host the Cup-winning Leicester Riders in the BBL Trophy. Both games are to be played on February 1st.