In his native country of Australia, Brock Motum helped the WSU Cougars inch out a 75-74 victory against the Melbourne Tigers of the NBL (National Basketball League) Tuesday at Kilsyth Sports Centre. The contest was the first of five exhibition games for the Cougars as part of a two-week international tour of Australia.

Motum scored a team-high 21 points, including a game-winning putback that sealed the Cougars’ first victory of the tour. Sophomore DaVonte Lacy put up 16 points, while senior Reggie Moore added 11 points and 6 assists in the winning effort.

It was a game of runs as Melbourne built an early 10-point lead in the first half, leading WSU 43-33 at halftime. The Cougars stormed back with a 7-0 run to start the second half and gained a seven-point lead with just under four minutes remaining in the contest.

Despite the Cougs’ efforts, the Tigers would not go down easily. Melbourne stormed back once again to take the lead 74-73 with only 13 seconds remaining. In the waning seconds, Moore missed a strong attempt at the basket, while Motum cleaned up the rebound and put up the game-winning bucket with just 3 seconds to spare.

The Cougs will travel to Sydney for their next two games, the first of which is scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 9 against North Sydney’s Invitational Team.