Mahesh SG fired in 27 points as Karnataka State Police shocked highly rated Hindustan Aeronautics Limited 78-64 in the State ‘A’ Division men’s basketball league for the NC Parappa Memorial Trophy at the Beagles courts here on Monday.

The Cops, who themselves were on the receiving end against Jayanagar Sports Club on Saturday, erased the bitter memories of that defeat with a hard-earned victory against HAL. In fact, they also avenged their league defeat last year to HAL in style.

Until well into the third quarter, it looked the match would be a nerve wracking one as both teams went neck and neck. However, at 54-53, and seconds left for the end of third quarter, KSP’s Santosh scored four points on the trot as the Cops ended the quarter with a 58-53 lead.

The pressure was still on the Cops, even with a five point lead, and they needed a good show from someone to ward off the challenge posted by a strong HAL.

Good show

Mahesh, who struggled earlier on the day, came up with 15 points in that period, including three three pointers. Aided by good defensive work by Lokesh S and Sharath, KSP cruised home.

Earlier, HAL started aggressively but they squandered the advantage due to too many unforced errors. The Cops grabbed the opportunity with two hands thanks to Santosh, who basketted 12 points, and Shyam (10) upfront.

The Cops lead 23-17 at the end of first quarter and 46-41 at the break. HAL then shot into the lead twice in the initial stages of third quarter but they couldn’t stop Mahesh from tilting the match in KSP’s favour.

Umashankar (15 points), Sachindra (14) and Girish (10) did the bulk of the scoring for HAL.

Results: ASC: 55 (Harish 12, Nixon 12) bt Beagles SC: 42 (Siddharth 14, Diwakar 8). HT: 26-23; KSP: 78 (Mahesh S G 27, Santosh 12, Shyam 10) bt HAL: 64 (Umashanker 15, Sachindra 14, Girish 10). HT: 46-41; Sports Hostel: 58 (Jayaraj 19, Varun 15) bt Koramangala SC: 49 (Karan 14, Ashwin 11). HT: 24-20.