Tyler Harvey’s 200th game brings a fight to the final minutes as Makur Maker sets a new NBL career high

Two hundred games in Hawks colours. Co-captain Tyler Harvey became just the 11th player in club history to reach the milestone on Sunday afternoon, and while the result didn’t go our way, the WIN Entertainment Centre saw a group that refused to go quietly. Cairns took it 110-100, but we dragged a 17-point deficit back to four in the final term before the Taipans’ shooting held us off.

Makur Maker delivered a new NBL career high of 18 points, Sam Froling posted a 16 and 12 double-double, and six players finished in double figures as we won the glass 42-29 and the bench battle 54-24.

Two hundred and still swinging

Harvey made his mark early. In the opening minutes he chased down his own missed floater and tipped it home for an 8-5 lead, and the starting five of Harvey, Milton Doyle, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, Kelan Martin and Froling came out with noticeably more energy and intent, crashing the offensive glass and getting their hands on loose balls.

Justin Tatum said

"We're impressed with our intent to come out here and play good basketball in front of our crowd, just unfortunately we couldn't sustain it for 40 minutes."

His biggest moment came in the third. With Cairns threatening to pull clear, Harvey hit a floater, then buried a three that cut it to 73-78 and forced a Taipans timeout as the crowd sensed the momentum swinging. He added two free throws and found Froling for a bucket, scoring all seven of his second-half points in that stretch. He finished with 11 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal.

Only weeks after Froling brought up his own 200th, the two co-captains now stand together on one of the most exclusive lists in the club’s history.

A new high for Maker

Maker was the standout. His 18 points came on 6 of 7 shooting, including 2 of 2 from deep and 4 of 4 at the line, with 9 rebounds to go with it. That is a new NBL career high in points.

He was everywhere in the first half, crashing the offensive glass for a putback to close the first quarter at 27-28 and pouring in 11 points and 8 rebounds by the main break. In the third he threw down two dunks, the first off a Davo Hickey offensive rebound and a Lamar Patterson assist, before knocking down a three from another Patterson feed.

Froling goes to work

Froling took over the post in the last quarter. He opened the term with an and-one, went back to work for another two, drove for a layup and hit his free throws to keep us in touch. He finished with 16 points and 12 rebounds, 11 points and 9 boards of it after half time, including 4 offensive rebounds for the game.

Hickey matched him for effort with 13 points, 9 rebounds (5 offensive) and 4 assists. His and-one in the second quarter and his coast-to-coast finish before the break helped drag us back from 17 down, and his three in the final minutes made it 95-101.

Spin, finish, repeat

Patterson owned the start of the third. He spun through for a finger roll, isolated on Jack McVeigh for another spinning finish, and set up Maker twice. He finished with 11 points on 5 of 7 shooting, 4 assists and 2 steals, with 9 of those points coming after half time.

His steal and pass to a slashing Daniel Grida in the second quarter was one of the plays of the day. Grida added 4 points and 3 rebounds in another high-energy shift, and Kyle Adnam hit two threes in a fast start off the bench for 8 points.

Back within four

Down 17 at 37-54 in the second quarter, we closed the half on a 13-3 run, including the last nine points straight, to go into the break trailing 50-57.

The final term brought us closest. Swaka Lo Buluk stopped Jonah Bolden at one end and drained a baseline three at the other to make it 87-91, forcing another Cairns timeout. He finished with 11 points, including three triples. Froling’s free throws made it 89-93 with four minutes left, but McVeigh answered from the corner and Cairns didn’t give us another look.

Where it got away

The difference came from beyond the arc. Cairns hit 18 threes from 38 attempts, a 21-point advantage from deep against our 11 makes, in a game decided by 10. They shot 59.2 per cent from the field and moved the ball for 29 assists.

We won the possession game, collecting 13 offensive rebounds to Cairns’ 3 and getting to the line 20 times. On another night, that’s enough.

Cairns’ front line bites

McVeigh was outstanding for the Taipans with 32 points on 12 of 17 shooting, including five threes. Former Hawk Bolden added 20 and Keanu Pinder 19, with that front line combining for 71 of Cairns’ 110.

The Sandpit finds its voice

Hawkheads enjoyed a sunny Wollongong Sunday before tip-off, with a late rush filling the stands right before the opening tip. The “Illawarra” chant rolled down from the bleachers when we needed it in the second quarter, and the arena was on its feet to start the fourth as Enter Sandman blared through the speakers.

"As long as they keep loving us, we're going to love them back and we're going to figure this out." — Justin Tatum

Fan, Matthew had the place holding its breath in CMG Midcourt Mayhem, rocking a 2014/15 Tim Coenraad jersey and walking away with $550 for his earlier makes before his halfcourt shot rimmed out at the buzzer. So close. Register for your chance.

Have your say, Hawkheads

Who gets your Greater Bank Game MVP? Maker posted 18 points and 9 rebounds on 6 of 7 shooting. Froling had 16 points and 12 rebounds. Hickey filled it up with 13 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. Harvey had 11 points and 3 assists in his 200th game, and Patterson added 11 points, 4 assists and 2 steals. The vote is yours.

Press Conference presented by Relativity Films

Next stop, John Cain Arena

We hit the road for Round 5 to take on Melbourne United on Sunday 18 October, 5:00pm at John Cain Arena. Every game is live on ESPN on Disney.

Follow our social media for highlights and photos from Harvey’s 200th.

HUNGRY JACK’S NBL SEASON27 (Boxscore)

Illawarra Hawks 100 (Maker 18, Froling 16, Hickey 13)
Cairns Taipans 110 (McVeigh 32, Bolden 20, Pinder 19)

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Photos: RobShots