The Ballarat Miners have come away from their trip down the Midland Highway with an important victory in round 10 of the NBL1 men's competition over the Geelong Supercats.
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It was a low scoring, hard fought game at the Geelong Stadium as the Supercats looked to extend its four-game winning streak which had seen them climb to third spot on the ladder.
Holding a clear athleticism advantage, the Miners forced the ball inside early and often in the contest, leading to a plethora of free-throw attempts. Ballarat struggled to find consistency on their free-throws, missing 11 of their 32 attempts.
A last second three-pointer from Miners guard Marqueze Coleman gave Ballarat a three-point lead going into the main break after a back-and-forth first half.
Supercats import DeMarcus Gatlin almost single handedly kept his side afloat through the first two quarters, netting 18 points and playing with an a frenetic defensive energy.
Coming out of half-time, Miners coach Brendan Joyce tasked Kuany Kuany with containing Gatlin. Kuany told The Courier he was ready for the match-up.
"(Gatlin) was really playing great," he said.
"He's definitely a guy who we put a lot of effort into scouting... I knew there was a good chance I would guard him and I knew that if we stopped his there was a good chance we were going to win this game.
"For coach to trust me just shows that he believes in my ability to go out there and help the team win."
The low-scoring affair continued through the second half, with neither team scoring above 17 points in each of the last two quarters.
Some clutch shot-making and a timely blocked three-point attempt from Miners forward Jerry Evans Jr sealed the 66-62 win for Ballarat.
Kuany said it felt great to lock in another win away from home with some strong defence.
"Right now we're the best team in the league and we're trying to improve every single week... it feels great to go out and get some big stops down the end of the game and get another win."
DETAILS
FINAL SCORE:
BALLARAT MINERS: 18, 20, 17, 11 (66)
GEELONG SUPERCATS: 14, 21, 12, 15 (62)
SCORERS: Miners - Evans Jr 19 (2 three-pointers), Coleman 17 (2), Short 7 (2), Acuoth 7, Fox 7, Kuany 4, Fisher 3 (1). Supercats - Gatlin 22, Thomas 12 (1), Owusu 12 (2), Williams 8 (1), Hicks 2, Mcinerney 2, Varley 2, Rebula 2.
STATS
REBOUNDS - Miners 46, Supercats 54
ASSISTS - Miners 12, Supercats 14
STEALS - Miners 6, Supercats 14
BLOCKS - Miners 10, Supercats 3
TURNOVERS - Miners 20, Supercats 12
FOULS - Miners 13, Supercats 20
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