By JARROD POTTER
Killer Cougars
Cougar Cavalier… carnage
Big V – round 9
ONE step up from a gutter brawl, Keysborough managed to out-pace Casey Cavaliers in a nine-point basketball thriller on Saturday night.
The match threatened to spill out and cause carnage as all were left ripping hair out over decisions as technical fouls were doled out liberally in response from the referees.
Thankfully cooler heads prevailed and the task at hand was rallied and executed strongly by Keysborough.
The Cougars shot the lights out as a whopping 11-of-20 hit from the three-point arc to keep the Cavaliers at bay and run out 95-86 winners.
The addition of point guard Eric Miraflores and forwards Chris Jones and Jackson Houpt gave Keysborough coach Nathan Vogt plenty of options to rotate as starting centre Kevin Benn (7 points) found early foul trouble.
The battle between Miraflores and his defenders – Casey guard trio Chris Murray, Steve Michalski and Brad Szalek – proved captivating while under the basket Jones and Houpt had their hands full with Matt Witherden and Ash Szalek.
Miraflores (34 points, 8 rebounds, 5 steals) led the Cougar charge from the tip-off as he powered to 23 points by half-time, while Houpt (12 points, 5 rebounds) and Jones (7 points, 12 rebounds) also earned their meal tickets.
Holding on while his team mates succumbed to foul trouble and the referees’ consternation, Casey’s Matt Witherden (41 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists) carried the offensive task as he pushed through the key, hit five-of-eight long-range three-pointers and chopped out defensively against the Cougars forwards.
“We want to be playing finals again this year and we need all the high intensity games we’re going to get,” Vogt said.
“That’s the goal – we want to go one better than we have in the last two years, so in a league where we’ve had a few blowout games we need a couple of strong matches like this to put us under pressure.”
“We’ve got a number of guys who can step up and score – so we’re getting that balance right and any given night it could be any of them – I’ve probably got eight guys who can catch a lot and get big numbers.”
The Keysborough Cougars women faced Casey Cavaliers on Sunday afternoon after the Journal went to print.
The win betters Keysborough to a 6-3 record before facing Mornington at home on Sunday.
The Keysborough Cougars and the entire Keysborough Basketball Association wanted to send a happy birthday shout out to three-year-old basketball super-fan Ryder, who is bravely battling leukaemia at the moment.
