WORCESTER Wolves rounded off their British Basketball League (BBL) regular season fixtures with a 80-69 defeat to Glasgow Rocks on Sunday.
Both sides will now face each other in the BBL play-off quarter-finals after finishing the campaign with a 19-14 win-loss record, but Wolves clinched fourth place over the Rocks by virtue of holding a 2-1 advantage in the teams’ three league meetings this season.
Wolves were slow off the mark in Glasgow and fell 13-3 behind after just four minutes as Rocks’ Great Britain forward Kieron Achara bagged seven early points.
But with just two minutes left in the opening quarter, Wolves replacement Orlan Jackman nailed a couple of buckets to reduce the deficit to 21-23.
Jay Couisnard slotted home successive three-pointers as the second period opened, which saw Worcester edge ahead for the first time at 29-25.
Disraeli Lufadeju and Jordan Dawes then got their names on the scoresheet to help maintain the lead until just before half-time.
Glasgow took the upper hand either side of the interval to lead 46-39, before another rally from the visitors resulted in a even 58-58 contest entering the final quarter.
With four minutes remaining, Achara returned the advantage to Rocks at 67-60 and although Jordan Aaron grabbed a basket and a bonus free throw to close the gap to 69-64, an 11-4 closing run for the Rocks was enough to seal the win.
Aaron led the way for Wolves with 16 points, with Couisnard and Jackman tallying 13 and 11 points respectively.
Head coach Paul James said: “While I’m disappointed we lost, I’m pleased we still fought hard. It was a tight contest until the final few minutes.
“It was an opportunity for everyone on our roster to get court time and everyone stuck to their jobs and battled.”
The loss came on the back of a 99-92 defeat to Cheshire Phoenix last Friday.
The first leg of the play-off quarter-final will take place in Scotland this Friday, with the University of Worcester Arena hosting the return leg on Sunday, April 24.