Karnataka State Police (KSP) outplayed Bharath Earth Movers Limited (BEML) 72-36 in the men's 'A' Division basketball league for the NC Parappa Memorial Trophy at the Sree Kanteerava stadium outdoor courts here on Saturday.

The Policemen sailed smoothly in a lop-sided encounter played under cloudy conditions. Both teams committed too many unforced errors at the start of the match, but KSP, packed with experienced campaigners, shrugged off the initial rustiness to gain a nine-point (26-17) lead at the end of the first quarter.

On the other hand, BEML, the 'B' Division champions, couldn't capitalise on the Cops' largesse as they struggled even to put easy baskets. KSP soon made amends for their costly misses and took a comfortable lead (34-23) at the halfway stage.

The break didn't affect the Cops' rhythm as they scored 21 and 17 points in the third and fourth quarters respectively.

KSP skipper Lokesh and Shyam Sunder were effective in defence, while pivot Santosh, who chipped in with 14 points, did a good job upfront. Lokesh gave good support in the offence as well and ended up scoring 14 points.

BEML's Ravichandra, who netted 14 points, played his heart out.

Results: KSP: 72 (Santosh 17, Lokesh 14) bt BEML: 36 (Ravich-andra 14). HT: 34-23; Vijaya Bank: 53 (Deva Kumar 20, Rony 12) bt Beagles BC: 32 (Shivu 10). HT: 28-14; JSC: 73 (Vasudev 25, Kaushal 19) bt Sports Hostel: 65 (Varun 19, Rabbani 16). HT: 40-37; ASC: 54 (Velliappan 16, Nixon 10) bt HASC: 39 (Raj Kumar 13). HT: 39-23.