Hawks push slick United all the way in home opener

The Result

Illawarra Hawks 88 – Melbourne United 91

The Story

A heavyweight clash between two title contenders ended with a hard fought Melbourne United victory over the freshly rebranded Illawarra Hawks.

The WIN Entertainment Centre lit up for the Hawks home opener - with the Illawarra faithful packing in on a school night to catch arguably the game of the season.

The headllines leading in to tip off were dominated by the return of the 'Illawarra' name to the Hawks faithful and the crowd responded by turning out in their droves.

United clearly didn't read the script though as they ground out an exciting 91-88 win - spoiling the party in front of a vocal home crowd of just over 3500

It was a hot start for the visitors - shooting out to a 13-6 lead after back-to-back Jock Landale threes - almost immediately taking the air out of a pumped up crowd.

Next Star Justinian Jessup did his best to reinvigorate the masses, quickly finding his stroke and finishing the first stanza with 8 points on his way to a game-high 24, including this ridiculous double, behind-the-back bucket.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This bit of brilliance from Justinian Jessup is your latest <a href="https://twitter.com/peppermoney?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@peppermoney</a> ‘Money Ball of the Game’ Hawk Nation. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/OARQ1xrO7s">pic.twitter.com/OARQ1xrO7s</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1359676054109970435?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


The Hawks stormed to the lead midway through the third term with Tyler Harvey catching fire on his way to a double double, with Cam Bairstow providing some much-needed punch off the bench. 

Sam Froling again put his name up in lights, giving one of the NBL's marquee men in Landale a tough time on both ends of the court.

Froling finished with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 3 blocks - with the young big saying post-game he was buoyed by the "incredible" energy in the building.

"That was special. I don't think all of last year was like that at all. I think the crowd got behind us so much, walking into that gym hearing the Illawarra chant for the first time, it sent shivers down my spine. It was crazy, super special, they were like a sixth man tonight they gave us so much energy...they were awseome," Froling said.

A thrilling final quarter saw United edge their way ahead - and ultimately stay there despite the Hawks best efforts - with coach Brian Goorjian saying it was just a case of being "not quite good enough".

"I'm certainly not hanging my head, nor is my team about their perfromance. There's certainly disappointment, we're playing th best team in the league [they're] undefeated, we had a good chance tonight. We knew coming in that we needed to get certain things done [to win] and we're just not quite there yet," Goorjian said.

"I thought they [United] were really motivated tonight, really pumped up tonight. I thought they hit some big shots in the start of that game to really put us behind the eight ball for most of the game. We were always four down, six fown, two down, we were chasing all game from the start. They just had tremendous confidence," Goorjian said.

The Stats

Jessup went 8/15 from the field on the way to his 24 points. The Next Star tied his season high in a nice bounce back game that must have impressed his NBA side - the Golden State Warriors.

Tyler Harvey had his first double double of the year with 22 points and 10 rebounds. He also chipped in 4 assists. 

Froling (16pts, 11 reb, 3ast, 3blk) may have just had his best NBL game - the most impressive factor being that it came against the in-form Landale. 

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">This huge chase down block from <a href="https://twitter.com/sfrol13?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sfrol13</a> earns him our latest <a href="https://twitter.com/citymotorsgroup?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@citymotorsgroup</a> ‘Spark of the Game’ Hawk Nation!<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IllawarraProud?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#IllawarraProud</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://t.co/4x65f5LPt3">pic.twitter.com/4x65f5LPt3</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1359686567195930624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Justin Simon was at his disruptive best with 4 steals and although he didn't have the best shooting night, his defensive presence continues to create opportunities for both him and his teammates.

Coach Goorjian spoke after the game about the shortened rotation and utilising his bench better moving forward this season.

"I didn't get that bench involved. I put this on me...with Emmett and with Deng Adel in foul trouble. We need more out of that bench. I thought that six or seven we got a lot out of and over those four wins we were going 9, 10, 11 deep and tonight I cut that rotation down to six or seven when Adel got in foul trouble and tightened the belt down the stretch trying to get the win. I think that's a big factor, our depth and using our bench," Goorjian said.

"Forget the stats but it's about keeping them off the foul line and rebounding. A big reason they win games is they get to the foul line. They've won numerous games now in the same position. Tonight it's anybody's game with a minute to go, they get the offensive rebound, they get to the foul line and that was the difference in the game," Goorjian said.

The Casualty Ward

Nothing to report here with the Hawks reporting a clean bill of health post-game.

Dan Grida is the only player not active at the moment as he continues his recovery from a lower leg issue.

The Road Ahead

Round 5 – Sunday 14 February at 3pm v Sydney Kings @ Qudos Bank Arena

The Hawks will butter up again on Sunday with the first 'Freeway Clash' of the season taking place in Sydney against the Kings.

"We're not gonna be thinking about comparing ourselves to Melbourne when we have a cross town rival and a big game ahead. We wanna step up a get a win there and Sydney's gonna be the same challenge [as Melbourne]. As one of the guys in the locker room said "we got 30 to go" and this is another step in that road," Goorjian said. 

It will be the final game for both sides before they head to Melbourne for the month-long NBL Cup.

"This hub is gonna bring huge challenges. All of a sudden you go in there and you're playing eight games in three weeks. A lot of teams are gonna come out of that different than they went in," Goorjian said.