Saturday, October 15, 2005

WORCESTER Wolves booked their place in the National Trophy semi-final with a resounding 111-86 triumph at local rivals Coventry Crusaders.

American's Andrew Harper and Ty Shaw scored 24 and 22 points respectively as Wolves made it four wins from four in the group stage following successes against Solent Stars.

Coventry needed to win by at least 18 points to have any chance of winning the pool and securing a last-four ticket.

However, they were without long-range shooter Scott Neely, putting additional pressure on the rest of the team. They pushed hard in the first- half, but fell away in the latter stages, allowing Wolves to emerge victorious.

First blood, though, went to Crusaders' Hamlet, who scored 31 points in total. Shaw responded with two points, followed by three from Matt Collins.

Coventry kept pace for the first few minutes, but as the quarter progressed and Worcester got into their stride, the hosts began to fall behind.

Sam Oatman closed the quarter for Coventry with a well-timed run in for two on the buzzer, bringing the score to 36-19 in Worcester's favour.

The first points of the second quarter came from Harper's two successful free throws after being fouled in offence.

The Crusaders made up some ground to trail 40-29.

However, after the Crusaders' surge early in the quarter, they dropped further behind their visitors to go into half-time 66-42 down.

Valdas Urbonavicius, who scored 18 points, opened the third quarter in spectacular style with a slam from a well-placed feed from Chiverton.

Worcester took advantage of a struggling Crusaders side to open a 80-44 gap.

Harper then suffered a knee injury after tangling with Selwyn Reid and was forced to sit out the remainder.

Danny Williams stepped in to replace him as the Crusaders desperately tried to stop the rot.

Shaw closed the quarter with two, plus a bonus, taking the score to 90-55.

Worcester maintained the pressure, while Coventry were frequently frustrated in offence.

The hosts rallied but only had occasional threes from Hamlet to show for their efforts.