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Courtesy NBL.com

Despite standout performances from guest NBL stars Mark Worthington and Luke Kendall, the Kilsyth Cobras were unable to defeat visiting US college team the Vanderbilt Commodores in an exhibition game on Tuesday night at Kilsyth Stadium, 102-82.

Playing in front of 1,200 fans, Melbourne Tigers Worthington and Kendall impressed in their cameo for the Cobras, with Kendall scoring a game-high 25 points (including making a perfect 11-of-11 free throws) and adding seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.

Worthington chipped in with 24 points and Cobras star Brad Bridgewater added 19, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a well-rounded performance from the Commodores.

Vandy’s own Australian star and potential future first round NBA draft pick AJ Ogilvy had 19 points and eight rebounds while teammate Jermaine Beal notched a team-high 23 points. The Commodores had five players score in double-figures.

Trailing by as many as nine in the first quarter, the visitors quickly turned it around to take a nine-point lead into halftime, 51-42. The Commodores’ depth seemed to wear the Cobras down in the second half and Vandy extended their lead to 33 points before finishing with the 20-point victory.

The Americans dominated the glass, outrebounding Kilsyth 48-32 which led to a 21-4 advantage in second chance points. Their aggressive defence forced the Cobras into 20 turnovers, whilst the Americans committed just 12.

“Jermaine and Brad were as good at one time tonight as they have been together at any time,” said Vanderbilt head coach Kevin Stallings after the match. “They really did a great job for us. AJ had another outstanding game as well.”

“I was very pleased with how quickly we turned a nine-point deficit into a 10-point lead. Our depth could be a key for us this year and tonight we wore down a quality team. We will continue to try and use our depth with another game tomorrow afternoon.”

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