HEAD coach Paul James admitted his players were “hurting” after Worcester Wolves lost 99-88 to Cheshire Phoenix in the BBL Cup final.

Wolves made a strong start as they led 25-21 at the end of the first quarter but once Cheshire got their noses in front they never looked back at the Arena Birmingham.

James conceded “lapses in concentration” and “silly turnovers” cost them dear as Phoenix proved too strong in the second period.

“We came out and started off really well, perhaps too well,” James said.

“We got off some good shots and looked tight offensively.

“Cheshire then increased their defensive intensity which took us out of our rhythm a bit.

“There were some real lapses in concentration from one or two players and some silly turnovers.

“Although we didn’t have a lot of turnovers the ones we had were crucial and gave them a lead. We found ourselves chasing the game.

“It is a tough loss and we are hurting right now because of it. We didn’t play to our potential and paid the price for that.”

Michael Ojo top scored for Wolves with 18 points but Cheshire’s Malcolm Riley was the star of the show in front of a record crowd of 9,251.

He guided his side to victory with a 26-point haul and nine rebounds and James said Phoenix “thoroughly deserved the win”.

“Whether it was the enormity of the occasion or not we stopped playing the Worcester Wolves way,” he said.

“Because of that we gave Cheshire a sniff and once a team like that gets a sniff their confidence builds.

“In the end they were making three-point shots down the stretch which is not something they normally do.

“But we gave them that confidence and they thoroughly deserved the win in the end.

“They played well and did a good job of taking us out of our rhythm.”

It was only Wolves’ second defeat in their last 14 games in all competitions and James has urged his troops to bounce back from the disappointment.

Worcester host leaders Leicester Riders in the British Basketball League on Friday (7.30pm).

They also have a BBL Trophy semi-final against Sheffield Sharks to look forward to next month.

“It is better to get to a final than not so no one can take that away from us,” James added.

“We have worked very hard to get here and finals are where we want to be year after year if we can.

“We have got an opportunity in the Trophy to get to another final so we are going to remember this feeling.

“We didn’t perform as we should have done and hopefully if we can get through to the Trophy final it will be a different story.”