Worcester Wolves 55-60 Manchester Magic
Worcester Wolves lost out to Manchester Magic in a low-scoring encounter at the University of Worcester Arena on Saturday.
Both teams created multiple chances to score but both teams often found it difficult to convert those chances, with Manchester having just enough of an edge to grind out a 60-55 victory.
James Davis was the feature of the early going, winning the tipoff and banking a quick-fire four points but at the same time picking up a double of fouls that saw him forced to a seat on the bench.
Evergreen point guard Wilfrid Santhe stepped back for a long-range success and gifted a three-point play for Emmanuel Yeboah, holding Magic to a 20-13 first quarter lead.
Jacob Dearman and Fin Rennie each sank triples and Santhe scrambled on the floor to rebound his own miss.
The final score of the half saw Dejaun Antonio intercept a Manchester pass and gallop up court for to lay the ball in and reduce the visitors’ advantage to 31-29.
Davis re-joined the action after the interval to connect again, but with a host of shots going astray it would take until the sixth minute of the second half before the lid was taken off the basket after Santhe sidestepped past defenders.
Trailing 43-40 entering the final quarter, the shooting woes continued for the majority of the Worcester roster with Santhe the only player able to significantly impact the scoreboard.
With a half-minute remaining Santhe drove forward to keep Manchester within a single score at 58-55 but his side were unable to prevent the visitors running down the clock to log the win.
Santhe finished with 22 points while Yeboah was the only other double-digit home scorer with ten.
Wolves connected on only 19 of a sizeable 71 shots for a 26 percent success rate. Magic fared only slightly better with 37 percent of their shots dropping.
“Manchester are a very good team who didn’t play to their best today, but then neither did we,” said Wolves coach Dean Blake.
“Despite not shooting well we still only lost by five points – it’s a tough loss to take to be honest.”
Next Saturday, 01 March (4.30pm), see eighth-placed Wolves face the challenge of a trip to the joint-leaders of National Basketball League Division Two, Leicester Warriors.
“Leicester will be looking to solidify their place in the playoffs so maybe their eyes will be somewhere else,” added Blake.
“But I’m not really expecting that so we’re going to need to have a very good week of preparation, something that hasn’t been a given this season unfortunately.”
The following weekend sees the club close out the 2024-25 season’s fixtures taking place at the University of Worcester Arena with a doubleheader of action. On Friday 07 March (7.30pm) Wolves host Myerscough Academy, with Cardiff City visiting on Sunday afternoon (5pm). Tickets for both game are available here and from the University of Worcester Arena Box Office.
