Wolves at the double

There were contrasting National Cup wins for Wolves two under-16 sides in a quiet week of action for the club.

With Hounslow Hawks pulling out of the league, the girls progressed to an away last 16 tie without having to bounce a ball. The game, on November 6, will see the top two sides in South ! Division meet for the first of at least four times this season.

Meanwhile the boys made hard work of their third round tie before beating Essex Rebels 84-81 at Oaklands. A road closure on the A12 meant only five of the visiting players made it to St Albans, but they made light of having no substitutes and only faded in the final five minutes before forcing a grandstand finish.

The short-handed visitors pulled away at the end of the first period to lead 28-16, and added to that lead to go into the locker room with a 49-36 lead. Wolves managed to pull it back to 61-54 at the final break.

Wolves took their first lead of the game at 67-66 on a Simon Patison with 5:56 on the clock, and as the visitors repeatedly turned the ball over they extended the advantage to 74-66 with 5:09 remaining. Rebels still had one more run in them as they took the game down to the wire before Wolves held on.

Patison again led the way for Wolves with 20 points, while Josh Brooks added 17, Bill Irving 15 and Ethan Downing 12.