Home at last: Martin's career-high 28 sinks Adelaide as Hawkheads get their “30”

Kelan Martin's 28 powers our first win of NBL27, as the Sandpit asks for a 30-point lead and gets one.

It took four games to get here, but the first win of NBL27 arrived exactly where it belonged: in front of our own people. We beat the Adelaide 36ers 114-92 at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Friday night, led for 37 minutes and 47 seconds, and pushed the lead as far as 32 against the side many have tipped for the championship.

Kelan Martin poured in a new NBL career high of 28 points, five days after setting his previous best in Sydney. Sam Froling posted 19 points and 13 rebounds. We handed out 33 assists, won the boards 49-35, and two development players got to soak in moments they will never forget.

‍
Thirty-five before the first break

Froling scored inside for the opening basket, and Milton Doyle's first shot as a Hawk at the WIN Entertainment Centre found the bottom of the net. Martin added a quick four to make it 8-5, and after Bryce Cotton levelled it from the line, Martin buried a three and then found Doyle for another to make it 14-8.

Adelaide hung around when a John Jenkins III three made it 21-17. Then we took off. Martin's hard drive and foul, a Daniel Grida corner three, a Tyler Harvey transition three and a showtime break from Davo Hickey to Harvey to Froling made it 11 unanswered at 32-17. Harvey added one more three off an offensive rebound, and we led 35-21 at the first break.

Kelan Martin, again

On Sunday in Sydney, Martin set an NBL career high with 21 points. By the time he took a seat with 4:11 left in the third quarter tonight, he already had 22.

He came back with 1:39 left in the quarter and showed off his midrange with a pretty fade. Another middy followed early in the fourth, and a finish off the glass brought up his 28th point.

Martin shot 10 of 14 from the field, 5 of 7 from three and 3 of 3 at the line, with five rebounds. His made field goals, threes and three assists were all new NBL career highs too.

He’s starting to look very comfortable in Hawks colours.

Froling owns the paint

Froling opened the second half with a hoop and the foul to stretch the lead to 32, and he didn't let up. His 19 points came on 9 of 15 shooting, and four of his 13 rebounds were on the offensive glass. One of those set up Lamar Patterson for an and-one, and Froling took the pass behind Harvey's back to bring up our 100th point at 101-72.

After Sydney won the boards 46-25 on Sunday, this was the response that mattered: 49-35 our way.

Thirty-three assists!

Hickey was everywhere. He scored 12 points on 5 of 8 shooting with seven assists, five rebounds and two steals, and his no-look feed to Wani Swaka Lo Buluk late in the third was one of the  assists of the night.

Harvey (11 points, three threes, seven assists) and Doyle (13 points, three threes, seven assists) shared the load, and we didn't turn it over once in the first half. Patterson added eight points on 3 of 4, Swaka Lo Buluk seven, and Grida seven, including a big throw-down late in the fourth. As a team, we hit 15 of 31 from three.

"Let's make it 30"

The second quarter was ours, 30-14. Froling opened it, Martin hit two more threes, and the ball kept finding cutters: Patterson for a layup, then Martin to Hickey. Harvey checked back in and floated one home, Grida came up with a steal and a layup in traffic, and Martin's three made it 59-30.

By then the Sandpit was already chanting "Let's make it 30!" Inside the final minute of the half, Hawkheads got their wish at 65-35, and a spontaneous ILLA-WARRA chant rolled around the building.

Where Adelaide fought back

Credit to Adelaide for refusing to fold. The 36ers won the third quarter 32-27 and the fourth 25-22, and they got to the line 25 times to our 11. A few turnovers crept in during the fourth, and the lead briefly dipped under 20 inside the final three minutes before Kyle Adnam's floater restored it at 107-87.

The defence did the heavy lifting early, though. Cotton finished with 15 points and seven assists, but only two field goals from four attempts, with 11 of 11 at the line. Jenkins added 13 and Nick Rakocevic pulled down 11 rebounds, while Adelaide shot 9 of 38 from three.

Brodie's first, Fletcher's home debut

The final minutes belonged to the kids. Local junior and development player Fletcher MacDonald stepped onto his home court for the first time inside the final four minutes and grabbed two rebounds.

Then Brodie McGregor, in 1:58 on the floor, drilled a wing three off a beautifully orchestrated Adnam assist for his first NBL points. He followed it with a tough layup to make it 112-89. The bench, and the building, loved every second.

The Gong turned up

Before the game, Justin Tatum said: "We'll have Wollongong behind [us]." Hawkheads delivered on that from the opening tip. They demanded 30 in the second quarter and got it. When Froling's step-through pushed the lead back to 30 at 97-67 in the fourth, the chant started all over again behind the Adelaide bench.

Have your say, Hawkheads

Voting for the Greater Bank Game MVP, presented by the Hawks' Major Community Partner, is open

Martin's 28 points on 10 of 14. Froling's 19 and 13. Hickey's 12 points, seven assists and five rebounds, or Tyler or Davo or Milt…. The choice is yours.

Back on the road Sunday

No time to rest. We head to Melbourne to take on the S.E. Melbourne Phoenix on Sunday 4 October at 3:00pm at John Cain Arena.

After Sunday's loss in Sydney, Tatum promised that "in a month's time we'll be having a different conversation." Five days later, that conversation has started.

Back next Friday

We're back at the WIN Entertainment Centre the following weekend, against the Tasmania JackJumpers on Friday 9 October at 7:30pm and the Cairns Taipans on Sunday 11 October at 5:00pm.

Highlights and photos from tonight are up across our social channels.

STRONGER. LOUDER. TOGETHER.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL27 (Boxscore)
ILLAWARRA HAWKS 114 (Martin 28, Froling 19, Doyle 13, Hickey 12, Harvey 11)
ADELAIDE 36ERS 92 (Cotton 15, Jenkins 13, Williams 12, Rasmussen 11, Cheatham 11)

Press Conference

Presented by Relativity Films

‍

‍