Hawks lose first-ever clash to red-hot JackJumpers

Hot-shooting from downtown has guided the Tasmania JackJumpers to a 98-86 win against the Illawarra Hawks on Sunday evening.

At the WIN Entertainment Centre, the JackJumpers hit 54.2 per cent (22/42) of their shots from downtown (equally an NBL record in 40-minute games), to win the first-ever match-up between the sides.

Those 22 made threes by the JackJumpers is the most ever against Brian Goorjian in his 789 NBL games as coach in the NBL.

It marks 32 years and six months in-between losses to Tasmanian teams in the NBL for him (last defeat was for Spectres vs Devils in August 1989).

Leading the way for the victors was import Josh Adams, who tallied 28 points (8/11 from downtown), four assists and four rebounds.

Others to shine for the visitors were Sam McDaniel (20 points all in the first half), Josh Magette (16 points and five assists) and Jack McVeigh (12 points and seven rebounds).

In the loss, which sees the Hawks drop out of the top four, Duop Reath starred with 25 points, eight rebounds and three blocks.

Antonius Cleveland was also strong with 20 points and five boards, while Xavier Rathan-Mayes nearly recorded a triple-double by registering 12 points, nine rebounds and nine assists.

Not only did the JackJumpers win the three-point count (22-4), they also won the rebounds (45-40), assists (20-16) and bench points (36-21).

The Hawks started the stronger of the two sides, racing out to a 5-nil lead after an and-one play by Reath.

But the visitors responded with two quick triples to Jack McVeigh, who hit the lead 6-5.

That lead was short-lived though, as a pair of baskets by Cleveland and two correct coach’s challenges by Goorjian energised the hosts to go on a 9-0 - capped off by a three-point play by Harvey.

The JackJumpers didn’t go away, scoring eight of the final 12 points, to trail the Hawks 22-20 at the first break.

The Ants regained the lead soon after the resumption, following a three and two respectively by Clint Steindl and Sam McDaniel.

The latter then hit back-to-back triples, followed by a Magette effort from downtown, to put the visitors up by seven midway through the second period.

A brief fightback by the hosts closed the gap to two before McDaniels and Josh Adams nailed shots from three, to extend the Ants’ lead to eight.

The to-and-fro game continued, as the Hawks scored seven quick points, including a clutch three from Cleveland.

Despite the comeback, a McDaniel shot (taking his first-half tally to 20) as time expired to put the visitors up 46-43 at the break.

The visitors’ three-point barrage continued in the second half, thanks to efforts from Mikyle McIntosh, Magette and Adams - who started on a 17-10 run.

A big Sam Froling dunk and and-one by Xavier Rathan-Mayes ensured the hosts only trailed 73-63 at three-quarter-time.

A determined Hawks side, led by Reath’s early block and and-one, started the fourth quarter.

In fact, the former LSU Tiger scored the first nine points for the Hawks, helping them close to within seven.

This strong play was backed up with crafty buckets from Rathan-Mayes, Harvey and Cleveland - whose big dunk closed the deficit to six with three to play.

As timely as those baskets were, the Ants continually had the answer - most notably Adams who had 14 of his team’s first 20 points in the term.

That proved just the spark the JackJumpers needed, as they ran away with the 10-point win.

The Hawks, who are now 8-7, will look to rebound against the Adelaide 36ers on Friday at the WIN Entertainment Centre from 7.30pm AEDT - with tickets available via Ticketmaster.