WORCESTER Wolves coach Josh Cooprider praised the character shown by his players during their home 81-73 English Basketball League Division One victory over City of Sheffield Arrows.

Despite trailing 51-43 at the halfway stage, the Wolves fought back to secure an impressive victory against the league holders who were fifth in EBL Division One going into the game.

Cooprider said: "The key factor about the performance was the tremendous character shown by the players against such intense competition.

"This win gives us an excellent platform on which to build for the second half of the league season."

Mick Donovan, Worcester's director of basketball, said: "This was a massive result for the club with fantastic support from the Wolves fans."

Worcester opened strongly, winning the tip and sinking a rebound from the first shot within seconds of the start.

Andy Harper, who scored 34 points, led the assault on the Arrows, scoring four three-pointers in the first quarter.

The pace of the second quarter was much the same, but this time the Arrows held the upper hand and led 36-32 halfway through the quarter.

The game tightened up in the third quarter and the two sides were locked at 67-67 when the buzzer sounded.

With all to play for in the final quarter, Sheffield opened quite strongly and built a small lead.

But a brief flurry of points from Harper spurred Wolves on and, with two minutes to go, they regained the lead.

The Arrows committed a string of fouls in the final few minutes which contributed to Worcester's convincing win.