SIX years of hard work to develop Worcester Wolves into the side they are today were gloriously rewarded at Coventry's Skydome yesterday when they lifted the National Trophy.
Josh Cooprider's men led from start to finish as they overpowered City of Sheffield Arrows 97-82, with Andy Harper picking up the MVP award for his excellent haul of 39 points.
Harper provided the heartbeat at the centre of the Wolves team and his tireless performance typified the drive and commitment that was the cornerstone of the victory.
Arrows staged a third-quarter fightback to give Wolves a small scare, but the University of Worcester side found an extra gear to hold on for the historic win.
Ty Shaw got the ball rolling for Wolves by slotting one out of two free throws before Noah Brown, by far and away the most dangerous Arrows player, successfully layed-up for the first two points of the 35 he bagged in total.
A series of three-pointers from Harper and Ben Potts helped Wolves race into a 29-11 lead with around five minutes remaining in the first quarter.
Arrows then staged a sustained period of attacks but the Wolves defence was resolute and the quarter ended with Cooprider's side 32-17 to the good.
As the second quarter got underway, it was more of the same from Wolves as they continued to work the court well and create chances at will.
Potts was on form from long range again as he stretched his side's lead with successive three-point shots.
A Shaw lay-up was sandwiched between a Brown three-pointer and two successful free throws to take the score to 43-29.
Brown continued to be successful with his three-point attempts and he gradually dragged his side to within 10 points of Wolves.
But as soon as the Sheffield side thought they were catching up, three-pointers from Valdas Urbonavicius and Harper twice extended Wolves' lead once more.
Wolves were in the box-seat, leading 57-41, as the High Flyers cheerleaders took to the court to provide half-time entertainment.
Shaw opened the scoring in the third quarter with a lay-up, but it was Arrows who had the better of the period, outscoring Wolves 20-16.
The pressure was starting to show on Cooprider's face as he offered a few choice words to the referee.
However, it was all smiles again soon for the head coach as Harper intercepted the ball on his own free throw line, dribbled down court and slotted a three-pointer.
Arrows' dominance in the third quarter saw them reduce the deficit to just 12 points and the fourth quarter began with the score 73-61 in favour of Wolves.
Brown then narrowed Wolves' lead further with a good drive and lay-up, but Urbonavicius, Shaw and Harper all scored points to restore the Worcester side's advantage.
Urbonavicius and Harper again linked up well as the latter netted from close range.
As the clock ticked down, Arrows player-coach Garnet Gayle took himself off and he immediately went to the Wolves bench to shake hands with Cooprider as he realised the game was lost.
Cooprider made five changes for the remaining 30 seconds to give all of his younger players a brief run-out.
And substitute Joshua Oladimeji was on hand to complete the scoring with a free throw that put Wolves 97-82 ahead as the buzzer sounded.
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