A HOMETOWN return suited Keysborough well in its four-point win over Melton in its Big V Division 2 season opener.
Keysborough hit the boards early – via tall recruit trio Matt Dettman (17 points, 11 rebounds), Kevin Benn (13 points, five rebounds) and Tim Brook (seven points, seven rebounds) to build a 50-38 lead at half time.
From 71-55 down at the start of the last quarter, Melton fought back into the game with threes from Tre Mauriohooho and Jeff Crowe, following the foul-based ejections of Cougars’ pair Brook and Aaron Stirton.
The Thoroughbreds pair bagged five shots from outside the line in as many shots to bring the margin back to five points with a minute left.
Crowe missed two late threes for a chance to win the match, but the cooler heads prevailed as Adam Sliwinski drew a crucial foul off Jordan Kirk and hit one of the free throws to ice the match.
Cougars coach Nathan Vogt said his side let the Thoroughbreds back into the match through foul issues and poor defence in the last quarter.
“We led every statistical category for pretty much the whole game but they hit some big shots at the end and that’s when it counts,” Vogt said.
“It didn’t hurt at all that we had key guys in foul trouble – Tim Brook and Stirton – but our defensive match ups mucked us about a bit.
“In the end I think we took the foot off the accelerator a bit and allowed them to make some big shots and that’s what happens – you have to play 40 minutes of basketball in the end – we have a lot of stuff to work on next week.”
Vogt was impressed with Dettman’s first match in the Cougars’ colours and believes his talls will be hard to man this season in Division 2.
“Matt is going to be a force this year – with the front court size we have with Matt and Kev (Benn), we’re really going to stretch a lot of sides in terms of the inside game,” Vogt said.
“We added Tim Brook and Nathaniel O’Hara as well – and they’ve got a bit of size and athleticism and that’s really going to help us with the way we play.”
On returning home after two seasons at Chelsea Basketball Association’s Bonbeach Stadium, Vogt said it was fantastic to come back to Springers Leisure Centre.
“It’s very exciting for us to be back at Springers – it’s where we started off and we’re glad to be back home and it’s a good feeling,” Vogt said.
Keysborough faces Keilor away on Sunday afternoon at 1.30pm.
Keysborough’s youth league 2 men fell to Melton in a 60-73 loss.
