WORCESTER Wolves were beaten but not disgraced when they went down 90-82 in their home National League Division One clash against Ware Rebels.

The game started with Wolves sending out Ben Livingston, Rhys Hocking, Nick Vinsonneau, Rick Solvason and Colin Chiverton as their first five.

Ware included six foot 11 inch Burgess and American sharpshooter Sableski in their starting line-up.

In the opening two minutes Sab-leski scored three long-range three-point shots with his first three touches.

The Wolves found themselves 17-5 down after six minutes and key player Chiverton was on three fouls and had to be substituted by coach Stuart France.

In the final five minutes of the first quarter Solvason and Vinsonneau began to respond for Worcester and the quarter ended 26-15 in the visitors favour.

The second quarter was a great deal more profitable for the Worcester team as Mark Brennan came on to gain points and Solvason combined to find gaps in the Ware defence.

The half ended with Livingston scoring from near the halfway line in the final seconds.

The gap between the teams was now only seven points yet Sableski for Ware looked very sharp from long distance.

The second half saw the Ware giant Burgess featuring more prominently and the smaller Worcester team were clearly struggling to contain the talented and effective forward.

Chiverton rejoined the game and despite the handicap of three fouls he worked effectively to create goal scoring opportunities.

In the final quarter within five minutes the Wolves reduced a 17-point lead to eight points.

Livingston and Solvason were the main scorers in this period and as the Wolves pressured a game that had always looked out of their range suddenly appeared to be within reach.

Ware were strong enough to hold out for a win and Sableski ended the game as he started with long range efforts securing the points.

Wolves' game coach France said: "We missed key shots at crucial stages of the game.

"Ware did not make that mistake and that was the difference."

Head coach Solvason added: "We started slowly and Ware did not look like they would miss. To our credit we stayed with them and showed a lot of character."

Director of Operations Mick Donovan said: "The team are learning all of the time.

"We must give big thank-you to the fans who turned out at a busy festive time."

Mid-table Wolves now have a break until January 5 when they travel to Oxford, who are second in the table.

On January 12 Wolves will entertain North London at University College Worcester.