BBL Championship (after overtime)
Worcester Wolves 88 (23,37,51,78) (Kennedy 23, Bachman 20, Setty 17)
Cheshire Phoenix 85 (21,43,65,78) (Brown 21, Fox 18, Wilcher 17)
Worcester Wolves started the new season with a thrilling overtime victory after edging out Cheshire Phoenix,88-85.
Paul James’ side had trailed by 16 points early in the fourth before launching an impressive fightback and eventually claiming the win in overtime.
Andrew Bachman netted his fifth triple to put Wolves ahead for the final time and finish with 20 points, supporting Jermel Kennedy’s 23-point haul, while Marek Klaasen dished out 15 assists.
Worcester had made a 13-4 start to the game before Cheshire began to settle as they moved ahead at 26-27 before taking a six-point lead into half-time.
The home side were 1-of-19 from downtown at the break and their struggles continued when play resumed, while Josh Wilcher netted two of his own in a 14-4 run to help his side lead by as many as 16 points.
Cheshire were still in control at 54-69 early in the fourth, but the Wolves put together an incredible 22-2 run to re-take the lead and move up by five as Bachman netted three triples in the dramatic spell.
However, there was another twist as Cheshire wiped out a 78-74 deficit to force overtime and led 85-82 inside the final minute of the extra period before triples from Bachman and Danny Huffor secured a thrilling win for the hosts.