Brixton Topcats 64, Worcester Wolves 48

Brixton Topcats men’s team beat Worcester Wolves 64-48 in a one-sided contest at Brixton Rec on Sunday.

The away team were late arriving at the Ruffhouse, giving the Topcats an extra 20 minutes or so to practise their shots.

The Wolves meanwhile had to run up the stairs at the Rec, quickly strip off, and be on court for the tip off as the refs wasted no time in starting the game.

This was to be the theme for the remainder of the match: would the Topcats benefit from the extra warm-up, or would they tire as the match wore on?

It didn’t help that the Wolves travelled to South London with a short bench as well. The starting line up was still carrying out some on court stretches as the Topcats broke down the court to sink the first basket.

Some loose handling saw some sloppy opening exchanges. This was the reverse of the Rec game against Solent Kestrels a fortnight ago. This time it was the away team that failed to put any points on the scoreboard as the clock counted down in the first quarter.

At one stage it was 11-0 to the Topcats. Worcester finally managed to find the hoop, trailing 18-6 come the first buzzer.

The second quarter started with a friendly enquiry to the Wolves Captain on court side:

“Are you warmed up yet?”

The man wearing the C replied “nearly.”

Worcester were the nearly team for the rest of the ball game.

The Wolves had no answer for Topcats’ AJ Uithaler. The star point guard cut through the away defence. The only attempt to stop AJ was by deliberately fouling him.

Topcats took a 29-17 lead into the half time buzzer. It should have been much higher.

What takes place in the locker room / broom cupboard at Brixton Rec remains in the locker room / broom cupboard. But it’s fair to say that the Topcats had a talking to about making the most of the home court advantage.

A very vocal home bench cheered on the Topcats at the start of the third quarter. Worcester should have been warmed up by now, but they were simply hustled out of the game.

This was starting to tire out the Topcats who let the pressure slip for a short burst in the quarter. Worcester made a lame attempt at a comeback. The Topcats became agitated, questioning each call from the refs.

A quick regroup, and soon it was back to business on the Brixton Ruffhouse court. Topcats took a 47-26 lead into the final quarter of the ball game.

Three pointers were traded by both teams at the start of the fourth. But the gap was too big for Worcester to turn around.

Topcats set up an interesting gameplay with two point guards taking to the court for the final few minutes. It led to a comfortable 64-48 Brixton home win, and a long drive back to Worcester for the Wolves, just over an hour after first arriving at the Rec.