Hawks defeat Kings in fiery Adrian Hurley Cup opener

First blood in the NBL22 Adrian Hurley Cup has gone to the Illawarra Hawks, who downed the Sydney Kings 92-84 at the Qudos Bank Arena on Saturday.

The star of the show was Australian Boomer Duop Reath, who totalled 27 points, seven rebounds, one assist, one steal and three shots from downtown.

Not to be outdone was highlight machine Antonius Cleveland, who amassed 19 points, seven rebounds, four steals and one assist.

Other Hawks to reach double-figures were Tyler Harvey and Justinian Jessup, who both finished with 13 - to celebrate Brian Goorjian's 800th NBL game in style.

.@XRM_22 finds @DuopReath with the sweet behind the back pass 👀#WeAreIllawarra #FlyAsOne #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/lg0oMGdbkB

— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) December 11, 2021

For the Kings, who were without Jaylen Adams, RJ Hunter and Dejan Vasiljevic, Angus Glover led the way with 16 points, while fellow Illawarra junior Xavier Cooks did it all with 14 points, 11 rebounds and five assists.

Rounding out the Kings’ top efforts were their other three starters Jarell Martin, Shaun Bruce and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, who scored 13, 12 and 11 respectively.

NBA Next Star Jessup started the encounter on fire, hitting his first two shots from downtown, forcing Kings coach Chase Burford to call a time-out.

That break stopped the Hawks’ hot start, with the hosts scoring 18 of the next 25 points - sparked by guard Glover and bench big man Thomas Vodanovich.

Despite three late free throws by Hawks’ Tim Coenraad, the Kings retained their lead (25-24) going into the first break.

Scoring dried up for both sides at the start of the quarter before a sharp steal and pull-up three by Harvey and coast-to-coast and-one by Cleveland helped the Hawks regain the lead.

That was the first of three massive plays by Cleveland, who set up Reath with an acrobatic assist before emphatically dunking on Makur Maker.

.@ac_uno1 puts @MakurMaker on a poster 📸#WeAreIllawarra #FlyAsOne #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/kdJuBL5t4D

— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) December 11, 2021

At the half, the Hawks led 46-43 behind 13 points from Reath and nine from Jessup - with Glover pacing the hosts with 10.

Successive driving lay-ups by Cleveland extended the Hawks’ lead to seven just after the resumption.

The Kings then rattled off nine of the next 13 points to retake the lead with three minutes to play in the third term.

But slick play by Xavier-Rathan Mayes, Cleveland and Reath in the final exchanges steered the Hawks to a 67-60 lead at three-quarter-time.

The fourth quarter started in end-to-end fashion, with both teams trading baskets, highlighted by Cleveland’s steal and fake pass, leading to an easy lay-up.

As all Freeway Series clashes go though, the Kings hit back with four quick points by Glover - giving the hosts the momentum.

But the local crowd was silenced by a clutch three by Reath and a late driving basket by Sam Froling.

Not in @samfroling_’s house 🤚 #WeAreIllawarra #FlyAsOne #NBL22 pic.twitter.com/ARyFpc124U

— Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) December 11, 2021

Tempers flared in the final minute following an emphatic block by Sam Froling on Glover, which saw the latter ejected from the contest - as the Hawks ran out eight points winners.

Next up for the 2-0 Hawks is the New Zealand Breakers at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday, while the Kings, who drop to 1-1, travel to John Cain Arena on Thursday to face the Melbourne United.

Tickets for the Hawks' first home game of the season are available via Ticketmaster.