By JARROD POTTER
Big V Division 2 – round 5
THE Thunder was silenced by a loud Cougar call on Saturday night as Keysborough notched win number three with an 80-74 victory over Keilor.
Containing Keilor to a miserly eight points in the first term, Keysborough’s defensive chops left the Thunder rattled.
Better shooting from the Cougars could have put the Thunder away early – with a 43 per cent shooting efficiency from the field a sign of improvement left to come.
Nathaniel O’Hara (22 points) continued his scoring ways while point guard Eric Miraflores (21 points) combined with star centre Kevin Benn (15 points, 7 rebounds) to great effect.
Keysborough’s women are still looking for an inaugural win after a tough outing against Mornington.
The Cougars could not keep up scoreboard pressure as the Breakers smashed open a 31-point deficit by the final siren.
Giving away 20 turnovers cost the Cougars dearly, but to their credit the Keysborough contingent kept pace on the stat-sheet for rebounds with 28 coming in the defensive key.
Ratika Palat (12 points, 11 rebounds) snared her first double-double for Keysborough in the Big V while Tamara Booth (13 points, 9 rebounds) went close to one of her own.
Nikolina Sukurica (10 points) was the other Cougar to notched double figures while Lucinda Johnson (6 points, 5 rebounds) and Sarah Collins (4 points, 7 rebounds) toiled under the basket.
The Cougars face Shepparton at home on Sunday 27 April from 1pm.
