Solent Kestrels Men’s team continued their winning start to the season with an 86-68 success at Team Solent in their EBL Division 3 fixture.

A large and noisy crowd at St Mary’s Leisure Centre saw the Kestrels take a 10-point lead in to half time and then outscore their opponents 21-12 in the third quarter.

The Kestrels fielded an exciting young team with Elliot James, Harry Cox and big George Ivens from last season’s National Final Four Under 18s contributing well.

Another ex-Kestrels junior, 23-year-old Tom Woods, has returned to the fold this season after spells in Italy and the BBL.He had a strong game with seven rebounds and a steal whilst toughing it out in the trenches against the Team Solent bigs.

Kestrels captain Louie Kirkman lead the team with 26 points and 11 rebounds, supported by Ollie Roberts with 19 points and 5 rebounds.

Irish Junior International Charlie Coombes ran the point well for the Kestrels with four points, five assists, three steals and four rebounds.

Senior forward Clayton Milner played some solid minutes and finished with four points and six rebounds.

Kestrels’ new signing, Australian Jake Borner, had an impressive debut with nine points and seven rebounds.

Jake is the son of legendary Australian basketball player Ray Borner, who played in four Olympics for his country.

Veteran point guard Mark Jackson lead Team Solent with 16 points and American import Brandon Reid contributed 13.