The Worcester Wolves have won their seventh game in a row as they beat the One Health Sharks Sheffield 95-80 to maintain the pressure on the Newcastle Eagles at the top of the BBL Championship. For the Sharks, it was their second defeat in consecutive nights.

The Wolves did all of the damage in the second half as Tommy Freeman hit 22 second half points on his way to 30 for the night, ably supported by 22 from Sherrad Prezzie-Blue. Jimmy Langhurst's 24 led the Sharks.

A low scoring start to the game saw the teams tied at 7 and 9 through the first six minutes before the visiting Sharks made the first push: they scored 5 straight points, all for Langhurst, to lead 9-14. But from there they had a four minute scoreless spell as the hosts clamped down on defence, scoring through Freeman and Zimnickas to narrow the gap to 13-14 after the opening ten minutes.

The second period continued in the same vein, with three quick lead changes at the outset before the teams were tied at 16. Olu Babalola scored consecutive baskets for the Sharks, only for David Watts to pull the Wolves back with an old-fashioned three-point play. And, after a Mike Tuck three-pointer, the Wolves used a 7-2 run to regain the lead at 32-31. But a strong finish to the half saw the Sharks edge back in front at 35-38.

The Wolves tied the game immediately after the break as Tommy Freeman opened with a three-pointer, and they were still tied at 44 after Carls Fernandez stole the ball and finished with a dunk for the hosts. And that gave the Wolves momentum as a 14-6 spell saw them take the largest lead of the game to that point at 58-50 inside the last three minutes of the third, only to be pegged back to 62-56 and set up an exciting fourth quarter.

But the Sharks would get no closer as the hosts turned the screw. They were up by double figures at 76-66 midway through the fourth period and kept their visitors at arm's length for the remainder with the lead peaking at the final score.

BBL Championship
Durham Wildcats 56 (15,25,31) (Capocci 17, M. Elderkin 14, Flaherty 11)
Mersey Tigers 86 (27,49,63) (Hesson 20, Otten 17, Cricelli 15)

The Mersey Tigers have recorded back-to-back road wins this weekend as they beat the Durham Wildcats 56-86 in the North East, condemning their opponents to their eighth straight defeat. It is the second time that they have won on Durham's floor, after also beating them in February.

The Tigers used a strong defensive showing for the second night in a row, but at the other end were led by 20 points and 12 rebounds from Myles Hesson and 17 points from Matt Otten. Mike Capocci's 17 led the Wildcats.

The visiting Tigers led from the second minute throughout and raced into an early 4-15 lead as Sam Cricelli hit 5 points, and the team missed just one of their opening eight shots through the first five minutes; the Wildcats, by contrast, were too keen to shoot the three-ball and went 0/5 during that spell. The Tigers pushed on, and the lead reached 10-23 on Cricelli's basket before Capocci finally got a three-pointer to drop for the hosts. But they couldn't get to within single figures as Otten scored the final basket of the first period for a 15-27 Tigers' lead.

Mario Flaherty made an 'and-one' play after 10 seconds of the second stanza to narrow the gap, only for the Wildcats to suffer a five minute scoreless spell thereafter. The Tigers notched 8 points during that time, with Otten and Cricelli starting that run, to lead 18-35. And the lead was soon through the twenty mark as Otten scored consecutive baskets - the second a steal and lay-up - to make the score 20-41 with three minutes to play in the half. By half time the Tigers led 25-49, shooting a stunning 72% from the field.

The hosts made no progress in a slow third quarter, with the teams sharing just 14 points in seven and a half minutes. But the Tigers stretched their lead, using a defensive master class for a second night in a row as they didn't allow the Wildcats to score for a further 4.25, restricting them to just 6 points in the third quarter, for a lead of 31-63 heading into the final period.

Mark Elderkin came from the bench to change all that with a trio of three-pointers in the opening two minutes of the fourth, making the score 40-68. But it was too little too late as, despite scoring nearly as many points in the fourth quarter as they did in the previous three, the Wildcats could get no closer than 21 at 56-77, before the Tigers finished with a flurry scoring the last 9 points including 6 for Hesson to make him the leading scorer on the night.

BBL Championship
Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders 88 (29,46,70) (Wierzbicki 27, Hardy 20, Sullivan 15)
Prestige Homes MK Lions 71 (18,37,55) (Dobbins 21, Bolds 17, Josey 13)

The Jelson Homes DMU Leicester Riders won their third home game in a row in condemning their bitter rivals the Prestige Homes MK Lions to their sixth straight defeat on the road with an 88-71 victory on Saturday night. The game settled the head-to-head between the two teams in Leicester's favour.

After a strong first quarter, the Riders settled the game with a run around the fourth quarter break. Bradd Wierzbicki led their scoring with 27 points, while Ayron Hardy wasn't far off a quadruple-double with 20 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists and 7 steals. Justin Dobbins led the Lions with 21 points and 8 rebounds.

The game was tight through the opening exchanges when Carl Josey scored back-to-back three-pointers to put the Lions in front at 6-10, although the Riders responded immediately through Rundles and Wierzbicki and took the lead back when Rundles hit a triple of his own to cap a quick 7-0 burst, a point from which the hosts would never trail. They pushed on from there as they finished the quarter with a 10-2 surge, 8 of which were scored by Wierzbicki, who had 14 first quarter points, to take a 29-18 lead after the opening ten minutes.

And Wierzbicki scored the first basket of the second quarter to spark a 9-2 opening, or 19-4 across the quarter break, as Drew Sullivan scored 5 in a row to make the score 38-20. The teams traded baskets before the Lions came back, with an 8-0 tear, including 7 from Bolds, narrowing the gap to 40-32 with three minutes to play in the half; and they were still within striking distance at 46-37 as the teams went in at the break.

They remained close up to 60-53 with three minutes left to play in the third quarter, before the Riders made what proved to be the decisive run. They finished the period 10-2 with Ayron Hardy scoring 8 of those points to take a commanding lead into the fourth quarter at 70-55. That momentum carried into the fourth as they scored the first 6 points, Wierzbicki starting the run as he moved onto 27 points for the night. The lead reached its peak at 80-55 on Hardy's basket with a little over five minutes to play.