WORCESTER Wolves saw their hopes of finishing second in the British Basketball League dashed with a narrow 66-63 defeat at Leicester Riders.

Victory saw the Riders cement the runners-up spot and means Worcester can finish the regular season no higher than third place.

Jamal Williams led the way with 14 points for Wolves, while Robert Thurman came off the bench for 11.

Leicester came into the game in a rich vein of form, having beaten every opponent they have faced in 2015 other than table-topping Newcastle Eagles.

However, buoyed by their own recent run of success, including victory over Newcastle, Worcester also had reason to feel confident.

Kalil Irving won the opening tip, going on to take his team’s first two scores, and it took a couple of minutes before Tyler Bernadini got the Leicester side of the scoreboard ticking.

An impressive 10-point burst from forward Jamal Williams pushed Wolves into a 21-15 lead as the close of the first quarter approached.

As the second period progressed, it was Riders who hit their stride. Thurman made a welcome return from injury to notch four points, but Wolves still trailed 38-35 going into the half-time break.

Paul Guede quietened a capacity crowd when sinking consecutive three-pointers as the game resumed. Stern defence would limit Leicester to just eight points over the whole of the third quarter, moving Wolves in front once more at 49-46.

By midway through the final period the visitors clung to a 55-54 advantage, before one-time Worcester centre Barry Lamble reversed the lead.

At 61-61 entering the last minute, head coach Paul James called a time-out and, from the re-start, the ball found its way to Irving who powered it home.

It was then the turn of Leicester’s Rob Paternostro to call for a break with just 26 seconds to go. His instructions worked a treat as Bernadini made space to float in a long-distance success and snatch victory.

James, whose side host Leicester at the University Arena on Friday night, said: "It's disappointing because we've now lost that opportunity to finish second in the league but it was a solid performance.

"It was a fiercely contested game by two teams who have been really competitive with each other over the last few years.

"Points were hard to come by for both teams but we just fell a little bit short. I felt we had done enough to win the game with a little over 20 seconds to go.

"We were two points up and just needed another solid defensive stand but we left their best player wide open for a three and he made the shot."

Meanwhile, Chavis Holmes has become the latest Wolves player to be named in the BBL team of the week.
The guard scored 22 points in last Friday’s 92-80 victory over Glasgow Rocks at the University Arena.

He also provided seven assists and pulled down seven
rebounds, as well as grabbing two steals for his fifth selection in the elite team this season.

Holmes is joined in the team by Neil Watson (Leicester Riders), David Aliu (Cheshire Phoenix), Scott Martin (Newcastle Eagles) and John Barber (Sheffield Sharks).

It is the second week running Worcester have had a player selected following captain Alex Owumi’s inclusion.