WORCESTER Wolves’ head coach Paul James was in ecstatic mood after seeing his charges overcome Sheffield Sharks with a last-gasp Chavis Holmes basket.

The 78-76 win only came about once his side propelled themselves back into contention after initially falling behind by a massive 16 points.

James said: “Sharks had the chance to go ahead with 10 seconds to go, before Chavis produced an unbelievable block on one of their big guys.

“Jamal (Williams) then missed a long two at the other end but Chavis was first to get to the ball, laying it in to seal the win. Chavis is a class act. I’m elated.”

The latest win put Wolves second in the BBL but they did not look like a high-flying side early on at Sheffield.

Sharks point guard BJ Holmes directed matters in the first quarter, picking out forwards Olu Babalola and Patrick Horstmann for easy scores and accumulating eight points of his own.

A series of careless turn-overs prevented Worcester from building their own side of the scoreboard.

Sheffield’s lead maximised at 28-12 as the second quarter opened, prompting Wolves captain Alex Owumi to draw a line in the sand.

Firstly, he was on hand to tip in a Remi Dibo miss.

Owumi then made only his second basket of the evening before roaring to a further 10 personal points in the remainder of the first half.

By now it was the Sharks’ turn to struggle offensively as their visitors charged to a 41-40 interval lead.

The momentum stayed with Wolves after the break.

Owumi nailed consecutive triples, while his back-court partner Holmes took care of setting up plays.

Clever assists for Dibo and Disraeli Lufadeju to sink long-range scores were the feature of a third period which ended with Worcester in front at 67-59.

Sharks clamped down defensively to hold Wolves scoreless for the opening three minutes of the last period with a Horstmann score restoring a 68-67 lead.

Sheffield kept their noses in front until the final two minutes when a jumper from Williams made it 76-75.

BJ Holmes levelled from the free-throw line before his namesake from Worcester provided the late action that edged the win.

James added: “I’m delighted at the character the players showed to turn the game around after a poor start. We were struggling to score and with defence.

“I knew we had to mix things up, so decided to go with a smaller line-up.

“This meant that we were the quicker team and made all the difference.

“Year on year it’s always been tough to come to Sheffield and take a win but I’m just so pleased at the application and effort from everyone on the team and to see the depth that we have in this squad.”

Owumi led all scorers with 24 points, including six three-pointers, supported by Holmes and Williams with 19 and 12 respectively.