WORCESTER Wolves bounced back to record possibly the best win in their eight-year history against British Basketball League leaders Newcastle Eagles.
Wolves shook off their defeat at Everton Tigers the previous night to move within two points of the BBL play-off zone at the University of Worcester on Saturday.
Chuck Evans returned for the hosts to face Eagles who had beaten Scottish Rocks by 30 points in the past 24 hours and brought a large group of noisy fans.
The opening quarter saw the big, powerful Newcastle side take the initiative with strong defence and well-structured offensive play.
Anthony Paez led the Wolves response with 10 points in the opening stanza but Eagles led 25-18 at the first break.
The second quarter saw Eagles continue to take an assertive approach yet Wolves stayed in touch with fine defensive rebounding from Shaun Durant and Skouson Harker. But both were guilty of missing good opportunities at the offensive end of the court.
Paez continued to contribute and two three-pointers from James Life and Evans followed by a tip-in by Paez on the buzzer saw the Wolves close the gap to 45-43 going into the half-time interval.
The third quarter saw Wolves step up their defensive intensity as Harker and Durant started to get the better of the Eagles' big forwards.
Wolves were no longer hanging in there but now asked serious questions of the illustrious visitors.
Evans was now fully in control of the play and orchestrated fine attacking play from Wolves.
Michael Gayle, Evans and Life all added three-pointers in a 30-point haul for Wolves in the quarter as it ended with a 73-70 lead for the hosts.
The final quarter was a thrilling affair as both sides exchanged baskets.
But Eagles had to work much harder to convert points as the Wolves' team defence was excellent, typified by the energetic Douaine Anderson.
Evans made two crucial long-range threes and Life hit 14 points that included three three-pointers.
Eagles simply could not hold the in-form Life who is terrorising all BBL teams with his excellent perimeter shooting.
The crowd responded magnificently to Life and, as both teams refused to crack, the vocal Worcester support began to play their part.
In the closing seconds, the impressive Paez scored a fine drive to basket, while Life and Evans converted pressure foul shots to give Wolves arguably their greatest scalp.
Paez scored 23 points, while the influential Evans added 19. But Life, with 36 points, left the hall as the main talking point after Wolves again proved they are capable of competing at the highest level.
Player-coach Harker said: "It was a great team performance and it was significant that our improvement defensively was a key factor in a memorable evening."
Director of basketball Mick Donovan said: "Within 24 hours, we have shown the best and worst of the current Wolves.
"The trip back from Merseyside allowed some soul searching to take place.
"Saturday's performance gave the Worcester people a great opportunity to watch some great basketball and the passion demonstrated by the team defensively matched the passion by our faithful fans.
"To beat Newcastle Eagles is one of the highlights since we formed the club. Now we have to be consistent and fulfil the massive potential that this group of players certainly have. It's a great feeling - now we really can build on it."
In the first of their weekend games, Worcester Wolves suffered an emphatic defeat at Everton Tigers.
Point guard Evans was missing from the line-up with flu so Michael Gayle made a rare start for Wolves.
Worcester raced into an early lead with six quick points from Paez.
Life put Wolves in a commanding position by hitting 17 points in the opening quarter, giving the visitors a 32-15 lead.
The second quarter saw a totally different Wolves take the floor and Everton reduced the lead to three points at half-time.
The lacklustre performance continued for the rest of the game and a 39-point third quarter for Everton contributed to an emphatic 123-90 win against a disappointing Wolves.
Life top-scored with 25 and Gayle contributed 15 points.
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