Geelong Supercats coach Mark Leader had only one word to describe Saturday night’s 109-88 win over Albury-Wodonga- Ugly.

In a match that never reached any great heights, save for a spectacular Isma’il Muhammad reverse two-handed dunk in the third quarter, the Supercats did enough to improve their record to 11-6 heading into the Queens’ Birthday break.

“A lot of times when you play an opponent you’re almost sure you’re almost going to win (against) you don’t come with the intensity and the energy you really need,’ Leader said.

“Certainly that was the case tonight, they brought us down to their level.

“But to our guys credit they stepped it up when they had to.”

Geelong trailed early, but had done enough to regain the lead at quarter-time 26-24.

From then on the Supercats were never headed by the struggling Bandits, blowing the margin out to as much as 26 in the final quarter.

Nathan Herbert was the star for Geelong with 23 points on 10-of-17 shooting, while import Clifton Lee chipped in with 21 points and 12 rebounds in another sold performance.

“He shoots the ball so well,” Leader said of Lee’s performance in which he went 8-of-14 from the field.

“And tonight I thought he drove the ball to the basketball as well as I’ve seen him do.

“So bringing that into his game is going to be a big asset for us.”

Albury-Wodonga relied heavily on imports Fernandez Lockett (30 points 19 rebounds) and former Mildura star Jermaine Williams.

However Williams struggled with his shooting, going 6-of-17 from the field leaving Lockett to keep things respectable.

The Supercats have again drawn level on wins with second placed Hobart in the SEABL South Conference following the Chargers shock loss to Sandringham on Friday night.

It also leaves Geelong needing just two wins to claim a 12th straight play-off berth.

However the Apple Islanders have two matches in hand on the Supercats, who face a tough home-road double against Dandenong and Knox when they return from the week off.

It starts a 10 game run into the play-offs, which includes six matches at home.

Coach Leader is unsure though whether the break is good for his team.

“I don’t know if you ever need it in basketball,” he said.

“I think keep playing sometimes especially with a double straight out of the break.

“Hopefully we can get some rest but come back with some intensity.”