Category: Game Reports

Winning Start

With 3 of our teams in action last night, 2 of the 3 got their BUCS campaigns off to winning starts.

After a slow start , our Men’s 2nd team found their rhythm. Some good defensive plays built momentum for their offense. Malaki Pitterson led all scorers with 21 points, followed by Panos Kalavas and Gavin Simpsons with 13 points each
Player of the Game was Noah Edward’s with 11 points, 10 rebounds and 9 steals – one steal away from a triple double!!

Our women started off their season with a convincing 87-36 win vs Loughborough Women’s 4th team. Player of the game Zaza Bamigboye. Zaza lead the team in scoring with 21 points and dominated the key defensively with 2 blocks and dominating the defensive rebounds

Week 2 Game Reports – Oct 18th

University of Worcester 74 – Northumbria 78

Eben Effah started things off for UW Men with a put back from Emanuel Yeboah missed 3. Emanuel hit 2 consecutive threes. Giving the home team an early lead (8-7). That lead would be short lived. With Northumbria coming back with some inside play from number 15 Kanwei. #5 Riley came next with a thunderous dunk. Poor defensive transition from our Men, saw Northumbria capitalise and close out the 1st quarter 18-15.

The second quarter began in the same way the first quarter ended. Worcester, struggling to find cohesion on the defensive end. #9 Kande (9pts) and #15 Kanwei (8pts) combining for 17pts in the second period, for the away team.

Eben again got things going in the 3rd, scoring on a Humberto Ferriera assist, from close range. Jacob Dearman was then fouled going drive to the basket and sank 1 of 2 from the line. #9 Sande and #15 Kanwei carried the load for the visitors scoring the teams first 16pts. Worcester found their own dynamic duo in Dearman and Yeboah. Who poured in a combined 18pts, to reduce the deficit to 11 going into the fourth.

Top Performers Jacob and Emanuel

Worcester continued to build momentum with Dearman and Yeboah carrying in the scoring load. Some good defense allowed us to take the lead. However we were unable to find the basket in the last 2 minutes and Nortumbria we able to take the lead and secure the victory.

Week 1 Game Reports – Oct 11th

UW Men’s 1st vs NTU 1st 91-63

A welcome back to BUCS Premier was the message delivered by NTU, to our Men’s 1st team. Five 3pt shots in the opening quarter, saw the home team take a commanding 27-18 lead. Some good defensive possessions kept our guys in the hunt with Humberto Ferriera getting out on the break to finish in transition. In addition to Zak Riabi coming off the bench hitting a couple 3’s. Our men weren’t able to close the gap ending the first half 50-34. A strong 3rd quarter saw our guys put up 21pts to NTU’s 20. New comer Eben Effah meeting numerous NTU players at the rim, ignited our men’s defense and offense. Zak Riabi, again coming off the bench to hit 11 straight points, with contributions from 3rd year guard Jacob Dearman and first year small forward Emanuel Yeboah.

Our guys had nothing to give, come the 4th quarter, only putting 8pts on the board, to NTU’s 21.

UW Women 1st vs

UW Men 2nd vs BCU Men 2nd 75-58

Early 3 points shooting from Panos, Zach and Malakai allowed Uni Men 2nd basketball team to establish an early comfortable lead in the first 4-5 minutes of their first game of the season (at home vs BCU Men 2nd team), lead which they never give away. It was 21-10 after 10 minutes of play and the lead increased to 28 points at half time (50-22). The dominance on the defensive end, continued in the 3rd quarter. With the game sown up to start the 4th, our men’s team took their foot off the gas, allowing the visitors to have a little run of their own reducing the lead to close the game.

UW Men 3rd vs UCB Men 1st 46-68

The first quarter UCB came out dominant on the glass, gaining second and third chance opportunities. Our Men’s team struggled to find a rhythm, finishing the quarter down 13-24. A better second quarter from our guys, saw them working to match UCB’s intensity closing the half 16-18 (29-42 UCB.

Foul trouble forced Coach Shanice to shrink her bench rotations. UCB utilised this opportunity to run and run some more. The relentless attitude from UCB, coupled with a reduced bench for our men, saw UCB dominate the 3rd to the tune of 20pt to our three. Some stern words from Coach Shanice saw our men bounce back in the 4th with more intensity on the defensive end, keeping UCB to just 6pts. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to bring it back causing them to lose at the final buzzer.

Week 6: Game Reports

University of Worcester 47 – 85 Coventry Men’s 1

At a raucous University of Worcester Arena, our men’s 2nd team came out ‘hot’, playing some spell binding basketball in a 1st quarter that was fantastic to watch. UW were spearheaded by Bedgood & Garcia scoring from the perimeter, then Dunphy ignited the crowd with scores in transition. UW led 30-17. However in the 2nd quarter, injuries hampered the UW team, ruling out Garcia, Bastos and Langfield.

The team continued to fight hard, playing with a passion & energy, however the strength and size of the league leaders, Coventry University, proved a insurmountable challenge.

The final score at times doesn’t reflect the intensity of the game through the first 30 mins, said Coach Simon Fisher.

MVP: Keon Dunphy, 12pts & 11 rebs

In the second round of games in the Midlands Tier 1 of the Wheechair Basketball conference, our team secured two emphatic victories over Loughborough and Nottingham University. The win’s mean that our team have guaranteed themselves top spot in the conference before the 3rd round of games in the new year.

University of Worcester 97 – 42 Loughborough

University of Worcester 53 – 17 Nottingham University

Week 5: Game Reports

University of Worcester Men’s 1st 88-76 Anglia Ruskin University Men’s 1st

Worcester started the game in style with a drive from Wifrid Santhe who dished it off to the cutting Thomas Grayling for the two handed flush. From that point on the team didn’t look back.

A strong effort from Anglia’s Ruskin’s guard Sam Horvath (35pts), wasn’t enough to stop an undermanned Worcester team. Another good performance from Evan Longman off the bench earned him Game Night MVP honours for his double double.

Coach Dean was happy with the win. “it’s always good to get a win, when you’re not at full strength. It show’s the depth in our squad. Which is important when we’re competing in two leagues.”

Matei Balteanu 21pts

Evan Longman 16pts

Wilfrid Santhe 14pts, Thomas Grayling 14pts

University of Worcester Women 68-41 Oxford Women’s 1st

After a long anticipated return, University of Worcester Womens basketball is back!

The Womens 1st team began there campaign with a strong performance over a valiant Oxford side. Strong scoring performance from , and allowed Worcester to to see out the entire game never trailing behind.

A BUCS debut for June Bolinaga however would steal the show, as she announced herself onto the main stage contributing 11pts and working tirelessly on defence.

Coach Kieran added

“I’m extremely happy with the girls today! Being low on numbers the ladies proved that it’s not about the size of the dog, but the fight in the dog that counts. We will take this win and look forward to next week to do it all over again.”

Carolina Marquez 16pts

Kacey Cox 14 pts

Charlotte Finn 12pts

University Worcester Men’s 2 76 vs 73 Nottingham Trent Men’s 2

Worcester Men’s 2nd team progressed in the Midlands Conference Cup after a pulsating game at the University of Worcester Arena.

Ben Bedgood ignited the game with back to back 3s that provided the fast start Coach Fisher had focused on after the initial series of games. This start meant Worcester had a 10+ pt lead for most of the game, with Thiago Bastos scoring inside showing we’ll on his season debut,  Bruno Garcia and Keon Dunphy produced energetic displays that allowed Worcester to stretch the lead to 16 as the game entered the final quarter.

Nottingham Trent continued to fight and there desire rattled the 2nds as they searched for their opening win of the season, however Ben Curran marshalled the team home in a frenetic final few minutes to leave the home crowd jubilant as the clock expired to welcome a home win.

Coach Fisher says “the game flow showed the strengths and development areas for the team. The control and team basketball we showed for large periods was excellent. We made good decisions, extra passes which enabled us to compete. The final quarter will provide learning, but also confidence that we learn how to win. The team spirit was excellent, the bench tremendous, but overall the desire to compete provided the winning effort.

Thiago Bastos – 20pts

Keen Dunphy – 16pts

Ben Bedgood – 15pts

Bruno Garcia – 10pts

University of Worcester Men’s 3 53-86 University of Wolverhampton Men’s 1

Going into the game the 3rds got of to a slow start leaving it to be 15-25 at the end of the 1st. Wolverhampton were a very tough team, and throughout the whole game continued to run and dominate in the paint.

Coach Shanice adjusted her defence but sadly Wolverhampton came back with 3 back to back 3s. As the game went on the lead got greater. The guys fought and continued to compete, holding Wolverhampton to 12 in the 4th. Unfortunately it was too little too late. Coach Shanice said ” Wolverhampton are a strong team and so they should be. I’m happy that we competed for all four quarters and didn’t give up. If we have that attitude, competitiveness and fight in the league then we will do well.”

Karvanni Spooner 12pts

Harvey Young 7pts

Men’s 1st lose on the road to Oxford

Oxford University 77 vs 66 University of Worcester

After a lack luster 1st quarter (11-25) from our men’s 1st team, the team struggled to find any rhythm on offense or defense to mount a comeback. Our guys played much better in the 2nd quarter, but it wasn’t enough to make a dent into Oxford’s lead of 13pts at the end of 20 minutes of play.

After the half time break, Oxford came out fighting with a flurry of baskets to cause an early time out by Coach Dean. We started to see more urgency from the team, as Coach Dean started to utilise the bench more to see if someone could ignite a spark.

The fourth quarter saw a team on a mission. Our Men’s 1st team started to play more like the team. Creating havoc on the defensive end, causing turnovers and creating fast break opportunities. However time wasn’t on our side and Oxford were strategic in slowing the game down to limit our chances of mounting a successful comback.

Top Scorers: Isaiah Walker 27, Humberto Ferreira 11, Jacob Dearman 10.

Coach Dean said, “due to the way we started the game, we gave ourselves too much work to do. The guys are naturally disappointed, however there’s no time to sulk and feel sorry for ourselves. So we have to prepare for our next game, taking the learnings from this evening.”

University of Worcester Men 2 80 vs 89 University of Wolverhampton

Wolves endured a slow start, as Wolverhampton found their shooting touch in the 1st quarter, ultimately the 16-32 score at the end of the 1st was to big a hill to climb.

However the 2nds showed immense heart and tenacity to battle and win the other quarters to end on the wrong end of a 80-89 score.

Wolves managed to close the game to 13 at the half, and made a real run in the 2nd half to provide the watching crowd belief the comeback was possible, closing the game to 4, with 5 mins to play.

Scorers: Bedgood-17, Garcia-14, Brine-13, Langfield-10, Curran-9

Coach Simon Fisher said “I am extremely proud of the effort, the desire to compete, especially facing a slow start, however the team collectively responded, playing some lovely team basketball. We need to find a way to avoid playing catch up in games, that is my responsibility, we will continue to learn and grow as a unit.”

1pt victories for our Wolves

Guard Caroline Marques made one of two FT’s to seal the victory for our Wolves women against Barking Abbey Lions. Lions lead by Fatmata Janneh’s double double of 31pts 10rebs were doing their best to make a comeback. Actually outscored our Wolves in the 4th, 12-10. Would have been 12-9 and possibly earning an extra period of play, had Caroline not have nailed the second of her two free throws.

Nunez missed the midrange jump shot, from a well executed out of bounds play. The long rebound was claimed by Marques, who was fouled on the drive to the basket.

Our Wolves are now in 6th position in WNBL 1 and face Nottingham Trent University who at this stage of the season are still looking for their first league victory. For full game report please click here

Worcester Wolves 70-69 Stourport Spartans

On to Sunday where our Men’s team escaped from the LQ Arena with the victory. A couple 3pt shots from Wilfrid Santhe were enough to see our Men maintain their unbeaten record (4-0)

Our guys started off strong, winning the first quarter 19-13, with Austin hitting 3 3pt shots in the opening period. The resiliant Spartans fought back winning the second quarter by 1 (19-18). Wolves still had a decent lead, closing the first half 36-28. Wolves were unable to shake off their local rivals, who pressed for most of the contest. Big second half by Wilfird Santhe who scored 14 of his 18 in the final 2 quarters helped keep Spartans at bay and giving Wolves the victory. Game report can be read here

The men’s team now sit a top of NBL 3 (Midlands region) with a 4-0 record tied with another set of Wolves who reside north of the M5.

#LetsGoWorcester

Wolves 91-58 Nottingham Hoods

Our Wolves Men finished their game with a convincing 4th quarter. Closing the game out with a 34pt haul. Lead by Wilfrid Santhe who poured in 14 of his 19pts in the final period. Third year student Matei Balteanu had another strong performance, leading all Wolves players in scoring with 21pts. Tom Grayling returned from injury and contributed 17pts off the bench, with some tough interior plays no his debut.

For full game report click here

Our Men’s 3rd make it two win’s in a row!

Our Men’s 3rd team were again victorious. This week they beat Coventry Men’s 2nd team 57-48 in a 3pm fixture. Meanwhile our Men’s 2nd were undermanned in their Midlands 2B game against Coventry Men’s 1st team. With the final score of 72-66, our Men’s 2nd are still searching for their first victory in the conference. Our Men’s 1st team travelled back up the M1 this week, to take on Newcastle University. A much better performance saw our guys, get within 5pts of the league leaders but were unable to get any closer. Click on the links below to see quarter scores on game reports

Coventry University 1 72-66 University of Worcester Men’s 2nd

Coventry University Men’s 2 48-57 University of Worcester Men’s 3rd

Newcastle University Men’s 1st 71-63 University of Worcster Men’s 1st

Our 3rd team are first to victory

After last weeks close defeat against Aston 1sts, the University of Worcester men’s Bucs 3rd’s were hungry for retribution as they welcomed a travelling Warwick 2nd’s team into the Arena.

Warwick started the game upbeat after winning the tip-off and getting right to the basket for and easy 2pt’s. Worcester responded through a basketball of their own via Alex Brine who would go on to make further impacts throughout the game. Warwick however, also coming off a defeat, showed their desire from the start punishing Worcester from miss placed passes and miscommunication on defence giving them a 1pt lead going into the half.  

Coming out of the half saw a “deja vu” moment as both teams traded baskets to start the second half. Similarly to the first half, Warwick took advantage of their opportunities leading 45-43 going into the 4th.  

Nevertheless, the Worcester team that ended the 3rd qtr, were not the same team who started the 4th. Worcester pressed on in the 4th boasting a more physical and energetic demeanour. Clutch plays on defence easy fast break lay-ups Alex Brine, Nathan Gallagher and Keon Dunphy. Down the stretch, unanswered 12pts from Worcester helped them close the game out nicely.

Coach Kieran had this to say

“WOW, What a game of basketball! All kinds of emotions were seen through the game from angry, sad and finally happy. All in all am I happy about the win, yes without a doubt but for sure it made clear what we need to work on and we shall do just that. Big credit to Warwick who were relentless throughout the game and never gave us a chance to get going. Like last week, this game is done with and we push on to learn from our mistakes and prepare for Coventry the next time around.”

Coach Kieran also hailed Alex Brine for his outstanding scoring through the game and his infectious confidence throughout.

The 67-56 victory over Warwick University, places them in 3rd position in Midlands 3A. As they’re only one of two teams to have played 2 games yet.

Also on Wednesday our women’s team fell to a dominant Nottingham Trent University team 75-58. Whilst our Men’s 1st lost their away fixture to Northumbria 67-52.

Worcester Wolves 60-72 Anglia Ruskin

Our Worcester Wolves women suffer their second loss in a row. Losing at home on Saturday to Anglia Ruskin University. The result leaves the team in 6th place in WNBL 1, with 2 win’s and 2 losses. Our women started the game well and finished the 1st quarter neck and neck with ARU 19-19. Closing the 1st half down by 5. A big 3rd quarter from ARU, coupled with Wolves lack a of focus saw the game open up and ARU taking a 54-39 lead going into the 4th. A late surge from our women saw them gain some momentum, but it was a little too late as ARU were able to hold on to their lead winning the fixture by 12. Full game report can be found here

The team get to bounce back next week when they face Thames Valley Cavaliers. The game tips off at 4pm at the University of Worcester Arena. Followed at 7pm when our men return to NBL 3 action when they take on Nottingham Hoods ll. To purchase tickets for the double header, click here

Wednesday Woes for our teams

Another night of losses in BUCS competitions as our 3 Men’s teams lost their games. Our Men’s 1st team travelled to Manchester for a 5pm tip off. A strong start saw them end the 1st quarter 23-16. However a resilient Mets team who boasted current Manchester Giant and former Wolves favourite Jordan Whelan, lead at half time 37-36.

we won the 3rd quarter by 3. But not giving up, Manchester closed the 4th 17-15 in the final minute, earning overtime. With Lucas McGregor (8pts) out due to an ankle injury and Matei Balteanu (12pts) fouled out, we failed to capitalise losing the extra period 2-8. Sealing the victory for the home team.

Bucs’s 3 Men went up against a strong Aston University side. Who boasted an abundance of height and a full bench. Regardless, our Men’s 3rd team started the game strong with some nice ball movement leading to an open 3pt shot. This momentum ensued as UW lead the game from start till mid-way in the 4th. The loss of 2 keys players in James-Lee and Keon Dunphy however proved to be decisive, allowing for Aston to pull away at the very end.

Coach Kieran had this to say

“All in all I am happy with the performance we showed for our first game. I explained to my players before the game that this will tell me a lot about this team and everyone individually….it did not disappoint. Regardless of the loss, we stayed true to ourselves and showed signs of pure class on the court. This game however is over with now and we go again next week so all eyes are set on that. Congrats to Aston for a great game but we’ll be back.”

Coach Kieran hailed the performances of all his players but pointed out Dylan Drew for his outstanding contributions on the court despite not originally being selected in the squad. Looks like the rematch at Aston shall be a real spectacle.

Next week our Men’s 1st team take an up north trip to Northumbria, still in search of their first win of the season. The game will see us take on UW Basketball Alumni Daniel Johnson-Thompson, for the first time since he transferred in the summer.

Whilst our Women face off against Nottingham Trent University in the first of the evenings home games at 6pm. Followed by an 8pm tip off, for our Men’s 3rd team who play Warwick University 2nd’s.