Hawks wrangle the Taipans - consolidate playoff spot

The Result

Illawarra Hawks 82 - Cairns Taipans 80

The Story

The Hawks finished their three-game home stand with back-to-back victories after knocking off the Cairns Taipans 82-80 in front a parochial home crowd at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

The Hawks jumped out of the blocks in this one - sprinting away to a 7-0 lead before the Taipans Cam Oliver finally got the visitors on the board with a three after almost as many minutes.

Tyler Harvey going a perfect 3/3 to open the affair - with the Hawks general seemingly full of confidence on the back of his superb showing on Friday night against the Phoenix.

The Hawks were whizzing the ball around on the offence end - with Deng Deng continuing his hot streak from deep and connecting after this beautiful passage of play.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Ball Movement 101<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/dZer5OTqxI">pic.twitter.com/dZer5OTqxI</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1381147649974231040?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

The Hawks holding a 25-20 lead at the quarter time break.

The home side started the second stanza with an offensive avalanche - dropping in nine unanswered points before Taipans coach Mike Kelly called a timeout to try and stem the tide.

Skipper AJ Ogilvy, Justin Simon and Sam Froling all getting in on the action as the Hawks extended the lead to 34-20 with seven left in the first half.

Kiwi Max Darling and local lad Lachie Dent also found some deserved gametime in the first half - the pair playing five minutes each with Emmett Naar and Cam Bairstow still on the sidelines with injury.

Harvey continued to fire away without regard - nailing 7/12 from the field in the first half for 17-points - and with Froling finding some foul trouble, skipper AJ Ogilvy continued his outstanding season on his way to six points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in just over 12 minutes of action.

The Hawks taking a 46-35 into the break with authority after this massive dunk from Deng Deng.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">WITH NO REGARD FOR HUMAN LIFE <a href="https://twitter.com/DengDeng19?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DengDeng19</a> <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/TVKInTY4yL">pic.twitter.com/TVKInTY4yL</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1381158816423706624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 11, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Third quarters have been a struggle for the Hawks in recent times and today was no different - the Taipans rolling through the opening six minutes on a 10-4 run that saw them bridge the gap to just five.

Harvey continued his hot form - but he didn't have much help on the offensive end with no other Hawks making it to double figures by three quarter time.

Illawarra hanging onto a slender 56-51 lead with one to play.

The final frame was a struggle early before a minute of magic for the Hawks handed them a 12-point lead they would not surrender.

First it was Harvey who dropped it another three to burst through the 30-point mark yet again, before Simon picked off an errant Taipans pass on the defensive end before running the court and flushing home a Froling miss only moments later.

There were a few tense moments down the stretch as the Taipans managed to pull within three. The Hawks fumbling their way through some missed free throws and several clunky offensive sets before Jessup finally knocked down two before the Taipans missed a final second shot to tie the game.

The Hawks winning for the second time in a row at home - and funnily enough by the exact same score as Friday night's game 82-80.

The Stats

The Hawks shot the lights out in the first half of tonight's contest - but cooled off significantly in the second stanza.

Apart from Harvey, the Hawks struggled from beyond the arc only going 7/29 from distance (Harvey was 5/12 meaning the rest of the team was 2/17).

The Taipans waited until late to get their outside game going but could still only muster 9/32 at 28%.

The Hawks have some work to do at the foul line - only making 13/26 from the charity stripe while the Taipans knocked down 17/20.

The Hawks won the battle of the glass (44-37) and got more points in the paint (38-26), had more steals 9-6 and blocks 3-2.

The Taipans bench provided better scoring punch though, contributing 34 points to the Hawks 15.

The Fallout

"I thought we got off to a great start, our bigs got in foul trouble, I went Max Darling deep into the rotation, Lachie Dent into the rotation and we found a way to win, played off Tyler [Harvey] down those back four or five minutes, it wasn't pretty but I do think after losing to Brisbane and coming into this, the team has showed tremendous resolve," coach Brian Goorjian said.

"We didnt play great, no doubt, but I really think, look at the ladder, look at what's going on. I knew coming into this tonight, we're on a three game home stand, we've played three games in five days, where we went to to win that last game - and again these two teams that we've played last have been sitting there and doing nothing but prepare for us, for a home game. I mean the schedules the schedule but ours has been horrible and to finally get home games and there back-to-back-to-back and the other team rested and come in here, what do you expect?" Goorjian said.

"Their bigs were dominant, they were contolling the tempo, we had a lead, we were on our blades, our rotations were off and we just stuck with a group of five and played off Harvey's hand in those last five minutes and got a win...I'm giving the guys some time off and let em recoup, we are worn, worn to the bone" Goorjian said.

"I think he's in that Hammer, Shane Heal and those great shooters. And like him, like CJ [Bruton] guys that I've had in the past, I think where he's learning or the hard part is he's not really a true point, he's a scoring guard. Not having that guy to take him off the ball tonight for major minutes, I mean Lachie did a great job in his short burst. What I'm saying about him is, that load of running a team and carrying the ball like he has to do with this group, that is making him a better player...I classify him in the great shooters that I've coached" Goorjian said.

"Two thrillers and I think it shows the resilience of the team. we for sure dodged a couple of bullets in each of those games, just to hang on especially on the defensive end, execute, some big plays down the stretch on offence, I think it shows some resilience. We're a young team, we're still learning how to play with each other down the stretch and finish games, the last two games are a good sign for sure," guard Justinian Jessup said.

"The crowd was really good today actually, a lot of people showed up and when they're making noise down the stretch I think that definitely has an effect on teams and gives you just enough of an edge to pull out a win like we did tonight," Jessup said.

He [Harvey] has those stretches where it's just like, you just watch and you're just kind of amazed, he just scores at will and so, he just totally put the team on his back tonight, without him we wouldn't of won, we wouldn't have even been close to winning so credit to him for carrying us, that's why he's here, to put us in situations to win like that," Jessup said.

The Road Ahead

Round 14 – Friday  16 April at 9:30pm AEST v Perth Wildcats @ RAC Arena, Perth

The Hawks head West for their next clash against the Wildcats and to say it hasn't been a happy hunting ground over the years is a giant understatement - Illawarra managing only one victory in their last 34 games in Western Australia.

The Wildcats will enter the game off the first NBL roadtrip[ to Tasmania this season - wtih the NZ Breakers taking some of their home games to the Apple Isle.

The Hawks will enter the clash fresh off four days rest - and they will be determined to improve on one of the worst records of any team at any venue in NBL history.