Wolves and Microgaming Cavaliers went head-to-head in Isle of Man Basketball Association’s Senior League at the NSC on Thursday evening.

Coming off the back of a resounding victory against league leaders Jets the previous week, a full-strength Wolves hoped to make short work of a slightly depleted Cavs outfit who have been inconsistent at best this year.

But welcoming back former league MVP Sergio Arboleyo gave the latter side some confidence and a tense opening quarter saw very little between the teams, with Wolves taking a narrow three-point advantage by the end.

Cavs enjoyed some success bulldozing their way through the paint, while Wolves played their traditional fast passing offence to create open shots.

The second quarter was a dead heat in scoring, Ross Wilson dominating the baseline for Wolves while Andy Cregeen used his unorthodox footwork to weave his way through the lane for a couple of key baskets.

At half-time, Wolves still only held the three-point advantage and there was a growing belief within Cavs that they could upset the form book.

All that melted away in a dominant third period for Wolves though as they punished every mistake by Cavs to run in lay-ups, Michael Pardoe and Viktor Capkanovski showing their pace up and down the court.

The quarter wasn’t a complete bust for Cavaliers though and some key baskets from Martin French did keep the damage to only 10 points and, while Cavs kept pushing in the fourth, they never really managed to claw back enough ground to put the result in danger.

Just as they started to get some momentum, a couple of great scores from Harry Brindle dulled the comeback and, although Cavs won the final quarter, it wasn’t by enough as Wolves won 60-53.

They can be pleased with their performance and it served Wolves a reminder that they’ll be no pushover if they meet in the play-offs again this year for the fifth straight year.

Wolves, on the other hand, continue down their pursuit of the number one seed and, although they’re probably relying on a Jets slip up, this strong run of results will likely see them entering the play-offs in a few weeks as the narrow favourite.

l The other Senior League game to take place at the National Sports Centre on Thursday evening saw Turkeys take on PwC Hoops, with the former running out 64-41 winners.