Sterling Davis full of praise for Glasgow Rocks as Wolves are tamed

Oct 14 2009 By Matthew Leslie

Rob Yanders

GLASGOW ROCKS boss Sterling Davis praised his battlers after grinding out a 93-87 win at Worcester Wolves.

The Kelvin Hall had to play without skipper Rob Yanders for much of the last quarter after the Milwaukee ace sprained his ankle.

Throw in the fact that Mike Copeland, pictured, was fouled out midway through the third quarter, the Rocks were down to their bare bones but were able to fend off a late charge from the Wolves.

Davis was full of praise for Scott Russell who came on for Yanders and did a sterling job in ensuring the Rocks would close out a priceless victory.

He said: "Scott did a great job and it is good to see him step up to the task and he confirmed what we've known for a while that he can play his part when required.

"Defensively he did the little things right like diving on the floor to retrieve the ball and putting in some good blocks which we needed him to do at that stage.

"Rob had to go off but we imagine he'll be OK for the trip to Sheffield Sharks this weekend."

Davis also called on Copeland to take a step back lest he be fouled out early again.

He added: "The fact Mike scored 20 points before leaving the game midway through the third tells its own story.

"He has to realise that the college system of refs letting you challenge a shot more aggressively does not apply here.

"Mike needs to be a lot smarter because hes shown he is a valuable player for us."