By JARROD POTTER
BIG V – ROUND 8
THE rigours of a brutal schedule and a trip to the border haven’t halted Keysborough’s maiden BIG V Division 1 campaign.
If anything the Cougars are steeled by the tougher tasks, as they went away on Saturday night and swiped an 85-79 victory off a Mildura flush with import talent.
Decorey Jones (29 points, 18 rebounds) lit up the Cougars’ defence but still had to contend with Calvin Enge (19 points, eight rebounds) and Aaron Abram (15 points, 12 rebounds) making life difficult for him up the other end.
The visitors draining threes proved the other major problem for Mildura, as Keysborough up-and-coming swingman Ben Morwood (21 points, eight rebounds) troubled the hosts with five-on-eight shooting beyond the arc.
Keysborough coach Nathan Vogt didn’t want to single out anyone though as the entire roster stood up on Saturday and has done so in 2016 throughout its inaugural Division 1 season.
“It’s been a great collective effort where everyone is playing the role,” Vogt said. “It was one of those games that didn’t really tell the full story.
“We’ve had games where you look at the box score and look away and see where it was won and lost, but given we had a number of guys really put in a great effort defensively and get on top of their assignments that went a long way to the result.
“All in all I’m really impressed with the way the guys have adjusted (to Division 1) – the game style, refereeing is slightly different and the other teams are significantly deeper.”
Vogt praised Morwood’s versatility and ultimately the headaches he creates for opposition guarding his unpredictability.
“Ben Morwood has really come along developing a great inside-out game,” Vogt said. “He was really tough for them to match up on – was hitting threes, offensive rebounds, backing the basket and was doing it all.
“They didn’t have anyone that could match him, without throwing out match ups like Calvin (Enge) and Aaron (Abram).”
Keysborough has no easy trip this week either, heading off to Warrnambool for a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Seahawks.
It’s a nightmare run the Cougars have to endure, but Vogt knows it only consolidates their place in the competition if they can continue pushing up the ladder.
“From here on in we’ve probably put ourselves in a situation that if we keep playing our basketball and win the games we should, we should be on target to make the playoffs,” Vogt said. “We’ve got a pretty full on schedule, but being new kids on the block I think we’re definitely earning our place in the league.
“The beauty of a tough fixture is that if we make it we know we’ve earned it and if we get there we’ve had the best preparation possible.
“It’s no secret we’ve had a desire to play Division 1 for a few years now – going back to 2012 – so to be finally given that opportunity as a club we’ve grabbed it with both hands.”
After a devastating loss to lowly Sherbrooke last week, Keysborough’s women bounced back on Saturday night with a 76-69 triumph over the visiting North East.
The Cougars got out of the blocks fast and solidified their gains through the double-double triumvirate of Katie O’Neill (27 points, 10 rebounds), Genevieve Abbott (20 points, 14 rebounds) and Sarah Collins (11 points, 12 rebounds).
Keysborough’s women head up the road to Pakenham on Saturday night for a seventh versus last battle.
In SEABL results, Dandenong men brought home a pair of losses from its Tasmanian road-trip. The Rangers were busted up 72-90 on Friday night by the Hobart Chargers, as Mason Peatling (19 points) led the way off the bench. It didn’t get any easier backing up on Saturday as Dandenong fell 77-85 to the North West Thunder. Daequon Montreal (24 points, nine rebounds) returned to his best form alongside Luke Gibcus (16 points) and Andrew Harms (12 points, six assists).
Dandenong men will face Ballarat on Sunday night, before it will host Canberra on Sunday afternoon.
