Sunday, September 25, 2005

WORCESTER Wolves reached the third round of the National Cup after edging past Filton Flyers 60-48 yesterday.

Lithuanian Valdas Urbonavicius top-scored with 17 points, while Matt Collins and Ty Shaw both netted 13 as Wolves recorded their second win of the season.

Head coach Josh Cooprider said: "Although we didn't excite as we should offensively, we played with great intensity defensively. There's still lots to work on in this early stage of the season."

In a low-scoring first quarter, Wolves were guilty of missing several shots, while the Bristol-based side threatened with a height advantage through Panji Grainger and Abe Ahmed.

Ben Potts proved to be Wolves' main danger as he drove well to the basket and hit a three-pointer to help the hosts to a slender 16-11 cushion.

Both Shaw, who made nine rebounds in the game, and Danny Williams got into early foul trouble and Shaw was rested for 15 minutes following three fouls before half-time. The low-scoring pattern continued as the two sides went in at the break level at 25-25.

Wolves stepped up a gear after the interval with Urbonavicius sinking two three-pointers. Collins started to take control of the game and Shaw made four steals in a two-minute spell, while Potts scored consistently.

Going into the final quarter, Wolves had managed to open up a 46-36 gap and looked to push on to victory.

Joshua Oladimeji was introduced and made an immediate impact with three steals and two assists. Collins and Shaw were the main final-quarter scorers to book Wolves a third round tie with either Gloucester or Tamar.

Colin Chiverton made 10 rebounds during the contest.