Game Recap: Hawks @ Sydney Kings | RD2 NBL27

The last two NBL champions met at Afterpay Arena on Sunday night. The Sydney Kings took the first Adrian Hurley Cup clash of the season 121-100, but we left Sydney with plenty worth holding on to. Kelan Martin set new NBL career highs with 21 points and seven rebounds, and Sam Froling matched him with 21. A Kyle Adnam barrage off the bench helped us win the final quarter 29-23.

It was a night of firsts, too. Johny Narkle made his first career start, Fletcher MacDonald made his Hawks debut, and Brodie McGregor made his NBL debut.

We started like we meant it. Martin opened the scoring from mid-range, Tyler Harvey buried three threes in the opening quarter, and we led for 7 minutes and 38 seconds of the first 10. Sydney closed the quarter on an 8-0 run to lead 31-27, and a 34-18 second quarter opened up a gap we spent the rest of the night chasing.

Kelan Martin

He finished with 21 points on 7 of 15 shooting, going 3 of 7 from deep and 4 of 6 at the line, and pulled down seven rebounds, every one of them on the defensive end. His 21 points and seven rebounds are both new NBL career highs.

Froling and Harvey set the tone

Sam Froling was close to unstoppable early. He had 10 points on 5 of 6 in the first quarter and 14 by half time on 7 of 8. He finished with 21 points on 9 of 13.

Tyler Harvey was just as sharp from range. He went 4 of 5 from three for 12 points and handed out four assists, with three of those threes coming in the opening quarter as we built our early lead.

Milton Doyle had six assists, nine points and two steals before fouling out in the third. William Hickey chipped in nine points and four assists of his own.

Twenty-nine in the fourth

Kyle Adnam made the fourth quarter his own. He opened it with back-to-back threes, followed up with a jumper, and played all 10 minutes of the quarter. He scored 15 of his 17 points in that stretch, on 5 of 8 shooting and 3 of 6 from deep.

Sydney had led by as many as 29, but we won the fourth quarter 29-23 and knocked eight points off the margin. The shooters kept firing all night and it paid off. After making 4 of 15 from three in the first half, we hit 9 of 20 after the break, including back-to-back threes from Wani Swaka Lo Buluk in the third quarter.

A night of firsts

Johny Narkle's first career start began with him crashing the offensive glass to set up a Harvey three. He finished with two offensive rebounds and equalled his career high with two blocks.

Fletcher MacDonald's Hawks debut came in the first quarter, and he came away with a steal. Brodie McGregor's NBL debut came in the final minutes, a moment he and his family will never forget.

Where it got away

Sydney won the second quarter 34-18, and the damage came from the same places all night. Outside of Harvey, we went 0 of 10 from deep in the first half, and the Kings made us pay at the other end. Doyle's and-one and a Harvey three dragged us back within 12 at 45-57, but Sydney closed the half on an 8-0 run to lead 65-45 at the break.

Without Todd Blanchfield and Mason Peatling, both sidelined through injury, we were thin in the frontcourt against a Kings team that won the boards 46 to 25, including 16 offensive rebounds. Sydney also made 27 of 32 free throws to our 13 of 17. We turned it over 12 times to their 13, so the possession battle was won and lost on the boards. That's the fix, and this group knows it.

The champs had answers

Kendric Davis led Sydney with 31 points and six assists, going 10 of 11 at the line. Torrey Craig added 20, and Makuach Maluach was perfect from the field with 19 on 6 of 6.

Have your say, Hawkheads

Voting for the Greater Bank Game MVP, presented by the Hawks' Major Community Partner, is open now. Closes at 3pm Tuesday Sept 29th.

Kelan Martin (21 points, seven rebounds), Sam Froling (21 points on 9 of 13) and Kyle Adnam (17 points, 15 in the fourth quarter) all put up the numbers. Over to you.

Home to the Gong on Friday

That's three games on the road to open NBL27, and a 0-3 start that stings. Now we come home. Friday night is our first home game of the season, and we need every Hawkhead in the building when we take on the Adelaide 36ers at WIN Entertainment Centre at 7:30pm.

Grab your tickets through Ticketmaster and let's make the Gong shake.

Want your membership on the house?

Our mates at Greater Bank have got your back, and are giving you the chance to win back the full cost of your membership.

Ten lucky members will be selected at random and have the cost of their season seat refunded in full!*

Haven’t chosen your membership yet? Make sure your membership details are up to date and ready for winners to be announced when we raise the roof for game one on Friday, 2 October.  (View Terms and Conditions)

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Boxscore

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON NBL27 (Boxscore)
Illawarra Hawks 100 (Froling 21, Martin 21, Adnam 17)
Sydney Kings 121 (Davis 31, Craig 20, Maluach 19,)

Head to our social media for highlights and photos from Afterpay Arena.

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