For so long a hero at the Minerdome, Cox again starred at the venue.

This time though, he was the villain as Geelong Supercats defeated Ballarat by 11 points.

Ismail Muhammad, J'nathan Bullock and Nathan Herbert laid the foundation for Geelong and then it was vintage Cox who took the game away from the Miners in the last quarter.

Relatively quiet up to the last break with only six points to his name, Cox hit two three-pointers inside the last minute to seal Ballarat's fate 89-78.

For the Wes Davidson Real Estate Miners, it was one that got away.

They made most of the running in the first half and right up to the last quarter answered every challenge Geelong threw at them.

There was no better example of this than Dan Joyce's three-point buzzer-beater in the third term, with Joyce getting his only basket for the game from two metres inside the halfway line.

It was to be a more aggressive Geelong that finished the best though.

While, for the second game in a row, Ballarat struggled to force its way to the basket and resorted to making low percentage long-range shots.

It saw the Miners' shooting percentage drop from 50 per cent at half-time to 43 after getting 11 baskets from 31 attempts in the second half.

In contrast the Supercats' explosive transitions opened up the court, as they had all night, to control the last five minutes.

Geelong's end-to-end danger constantly opened up the court.

Jared Scoines again displayed his value with 22 points and 10 rebounds in a tireless performance.

Tariq Naqqash scored 16, while Drake Reed was relatively quiet as just four points in the second half boosted his tally to 16.

Muhammad was a stand-out player for Geelong with 26 points, 11 rebounds, six assists, two steals and three blocks.

It was a loss the Miners could not afford after losing to Kilsyth at home on Wednesday night.

Although they retain fourth position in the east conference, three wins from seven games has Knox breathing down their neck.

It makes a clash with Sandringham at the Minerdome on Sunday an absolute must-win.