Big wins for Wolves pair

With the SLB side on an international break, Wolves men picked up a key 95-89 victory at Charnwood Riders, on Sunday.

Paced by a 30-point La'Quarne Sayles haul, Liam Jefferson's side led 29-25 at the first break and were 57-49 ahead going into the locker room at half-time. They were in touching distance of victory at the final break, leading 80-66 and survived a late comeback to collect the victory. Big man Gavin Mitchell finished with 21 points while Dan Kostadinov hit five triples on his way to 15 points.

Wolves academy side also survived a late comeback as they ended East London Phoenix's unbeaten start to the season with a 69-58 home win on Saturday evening.

After a delayed start due to the visitors arriving with a kit bag full of football shirts and shorts, Wolves started strongly and rushed into a 25-11 first period lead. Triples from Masie Moore, Amye Swinney and Caitlin Ryan saw the lead balloon to 36-13 midway through the second period before Phoenix narrowed the gap to 38-22 at half-time. A strong third quarter saw the Londoners cut Wolves' lead to 50-44 at the final break and they took their only lead of the game early in the fourth period as they opened with an 8-0 run. But three-pointers from Lily Harkness and Ryan calmed Wolves' nerves before Darcey Woodman and Ryan wrapped things up at the foul line.

Ryan had five threes in her game-high 21 points, with Woodman adding 15 points and Moore hitting three triples on the way to nine points.

Wolves men II couldn't complete a winning weekend in the senior divisions as they went down 115-69 at home against Bedford Thunder. Sayles' side never recovered from a 28-12 first period deficit and were outscored in all four quarters. J Buey led Wolves with 15 points, Ayden Amini adding 14 and Ethan Manyeku 11.

Successful weekend for Prem boys

Wolves U-16 boys kept up their push for a place in the post-season play-offs with an 81-37 victory at Brentwood Fire on Saturday afternoon.Michael Ball's team dominated throughout, stretching their 22-7 first period lead to 37-14 at half-time. A 27-10 third period ended the game as a contest before they wrapped things up with a 17-13 final frame. Sam McCree's 22 point, ten rebound double-double led the way for the visitors while Otis Lau-Johnston added 20 points and eight steals. Noah Binun also had a double-double, adding 13 boards to his 14 points, and Titouan Vimeux chipped in with  11 points and three assists. The U-14 boys premier team also had success on the road as they won 98-73 at London Thunder. George Walker's team rushed into a 29-20 first period lead and never looked back as they extended the advantage to 54-35 at half-time. Thunder cut the margin to 73-60 at the final break but Wolves wrapped up their third win of the campaign with a 25-13 fourth period.

Jacob Edrupt top scored for the sixth straight game with 34 points, with Rocky Starr adding 23 and Ted Yu 17

The U-14 conference team faced  a tough trip to Luton, and despite 18 Oliver Forrester-Fellowes points, went 60-46. Graham Roberts' side led 15-9 at the first break but a 27-8 second period proved crucial as the home side took the win.

The U=12 girls became the latest team to see their opponents drop out - there seems to be an epidemic of such nonsese, but they faced a Wolves U-11/12 development side in a friendly and a strong second half from the girls saw them run out 50-35 winners.

Finally, the U-12 boys B team had a day to forget as they lost 120-25 at home against Essex Charge.

Cup joy for two-out-of-three

Two of the three Wolves teams in National Cup action progressed to the next stage, with the U-16 boys beating Essex Charge 84-57 and the U-18 men winning 87-75 at Canterbury Crusaders.

Dan Kostadinov led the way with 17 points in the victory in Kent, with Gavin Mitchell adding 16 and Enzo Da Cruz 15 for Liam Jefferson's team.

Wolves did the damage in the first half, racing into a 22-12 lead  after the opening frame and 50-29 going into the locker room at half-time. Crusaders narrowed the gap to 66-53 at the final break and could only chip a single point off the lead in the fourth quarter. Wolves will travel to Ipswich in the last 16.

In contrast Michael Ball's U-16s blew open a tight game with a 28-13 third period to end Charge's challenge and set up a home last 16 tie against county rivals West Herts Warriors.  

The hosts led 23-17 at the first break and went into the locker room with a 40-32 advantage. There was no way back for a Charge side who had started the season with five straight wins as Wolves wrapped things up with a 16-12 final stanza.

Liam Schertel led a depleted Wolves side for the first time this season with 18 points, with Noah Binun adding 15, Sam McCree 13 and Otis Lau-Johnston 12. 

Wolves' U-16 girls saw their dreams end as they went down 69-44 at home against a strong London Greenhouse team as they never recovered from a 18-8 first period deficit.

There were mixed results for the four Wolves' teams in league action over the weekend. with two wins and as many loses  while the U-18 women were left just why Hackney failed to show up for their game.

The U-16 boys Premier teams went agonisingly close to an upset victory against league leaders London Stars before going down 91-85 at home on Saturday..

Four late Lau-Johnston points and a Tituoan Vimeux basket saw Wolves make it a three point game with 30 seconds remaining but that was as close as they came as Stars wrapped things up at the foul line.

Stars shaded a high-scoring first period 28-27 and led 44-42 at half-time before the teams shared 38 third period points to set up the grandstand finish. 

Binun led the way for the hosts with Lau-Johnston scoring 16, McCree 14 and Vimeux 12.

Wolves U-16 Conference side let a big first period lead slip as they lost 80-66 at home against North Herts Knights on Saturday.

Ibrahim Gariba's team led 28-19 at the first break but were outscored 27-12 in the second period and 20-10 in the third as their three-game winning streak came to an end. Wolves U-14 Conference side recorded their biggest win of the season as North Herts Knight were beaten 83-30 at Oaklands on Sunday.

Graham Roberts' team edged the first period 17-10 but then blew the game open with an 18-4 and they outscored the visitors 48-16 in the second half.

Oliver Forrester-Fellows led Wolves with 15 points, with Danny Tsoutsas and Thmas Roberts adding ten apiece.

Finally, there was a first victory of the season for the U-12 boys B team as they beat Southend Scorpions II 86-35.

Under stand-in coach George Walker, Wolves blew into a 21-6 first period lead and effectively had the game sewn up at 46-14 going into the half-time break.