Red-hot Wildcats end Hawks NBL Cup hopes with 87-70 win

The Result

Illawarra Hawks 70 - Perth Wildcats 87

The Story

It may be a different year but it was the same sort of result for the Hawks against the Wildcats tonight as they were thoroughly outplayed by the perennial NBL powerhouse - the Hawks outhustled and outmuscled by the defending champions as they ran away with an 87-70 victory.

The Wildcats made their intentions clear early in this one - shooting out to an 8-2 lead after only two minutes courtesy of some hot shooting and some suffocating defence. 

Former Hawk Todd Blanchfield started the game as if he had a point to prove - an early six points reminding the folks from the Illawarra what he is capable of.

Tyler Harvey started well for the Hawks, draining his first two shots, with big man Sam Froling also getting his name on the scoresheet early - but they were the only bright spots as the Hawks history of sluggish starts continued. Bryce Cotton well held for most of the opening term, before a four-point play late in the quarter helped the Wildcats take a handy 28-17 lead into the first break. 

The Hawks showed some promising signs early in the second - Deng Adel and Harvey kickstarting the Hawks with some grown man plays to help cut the lead to five.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">TUFF + 1 <a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</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/iWchVQsUav">pic.twitter.com/iWchVQsUav</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1368444060986306562?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

A rapid 10-0 run from the Wildcats quickly put a gap between the two sides as Hawks shooters Harvey and Justinian Jessup found it hard to get any time or space - while old Hawks favourite Blanchfield was the chief destroyer for his side with 13 first half points as the Wildcats rolled to a 22-point lead at the oranges.

Coach Brian Goojian went with a different look to open the second stanza - Adel and Cam Bairstow earning starts in place of Froling and captain AJ Ogilvy as the Hawks went in search of some much needed scoring power.

Isaac White entered the game late in the third and got himself to the free throw line courtesy of a hard foul by opposing big Tom Jervis, with Harvey following not long after as the Hawks score slowly ticked towards the half century.

'Next Star' Jessup endured his most difficult NBL game, with Perth stopper Mitch Norton wearing the young star like a glove as he struggled to find any rhythm. This sweet jumper a reminder of what he's capable of.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="es" dir="ltr">Elite jumper JJ <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/RRgTnQMMjQ">pic.twitter.com/RRgTnQMMjQ</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1368455748800237575?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 7, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Opportunites like that were too few and far between though as the Wildcats lead by a monstrous 28 at the end of the third.

Backup guard Emmett Naar got some more burn early in the final quarter and rewarded Goorjian with seven rapid fire points to cut the lead to 20.

But with the game beyond reach - Goorjian pulled the pin on his starters and unleashed the likes of Naar, White, Lachie Dent, Max Darling and Deng Deng.

The second unit managing to fire the Hawks to a final quarter win (24-13) - with White (nine points), Naar (seven points) and Deng (five points) all chipping in.

It just wasn't the Hawks night though as Perth strolled to a comprehensive 17-point win to cement their position atop the NBL Cup table.

The Stats

Perth shot the ball, shared the ball and protected the ball much better than the Hawks and it was a large reason for their dominance tonight.

The Hawks shot 37% from the field and a miserly 27% from beyond the arc. In contrast - the Wildcats went at 43% from two and 36% from deep.

The Hawks have struggled to create easy buckets for one another all year and today was no different with only 11 assists to the Cats 23.

Perth's stifling defensive pressure forced Illawarra to turn the ball over 17 times while only losing it eight times themselves.

Harvey scored a game-high 17 points for the Hawks and it was promising to see the likes of Naar (7) and White (9) cash in after getting more opportunity. 

Jessup (2/8), Simon (3/12), Bairstow (1/8) and Adel (2/8) all had largely inefficient nights as Perth's defensive dominance made life tough for the Hawks.

Skipper Ogilvy only got six minutes tonight as Goorjian still tries to work out exactly what his best combinations look like.

The Fallout

"I'm expecting a lot during this process and take the highs and lows and stay on the high road with this but I had no idea that that was gonna take place tonight. Tremendous respect for them [Perth], I knew after their loss last game they were really gonna come after us. I was really excited about the opportunity tonight to showcase the team and show em' what we're about...at halftime I was dumbfounded," Hawks coach Brian Goorjian said.

"The effort and the battle and having the will. I'll go there as a group. we're not where we need to be right now but as far as calling players out, I would never do that. When the system doesnt work or whatever, it falls on the coach as far as I'm concerned, but I'm always talking to them about that side of it. I'll handle the winning and the losing - and I'm prepared through this process of devleoping this team of getting kicked in the teeth a little bit - but I'm not gonna tolerate not moving the ball as a group and getting outhustled, outworked...it falls on me to get that outta the group."

That's a 50 point beating tonight, the score isnt an indication of how bad we got beat, but I brought those young guys on in the end and they did do that, they gave everything they had on the defensive end of the floor, fought, and then on the offensive end of the floor I thought the ball moved a little bit...and so instead of losing by 50 we lost by 17. But yeah, scratching my head and lot of work to do before we get those Kings."

We weren't up for the fight, didn't want any part of it, got outhustled, outcoached, outplayed, it was just a really disappointing situation and that's where we sit...I thought our practice leading into this was really good, I was really excited for tonight and this is like a punch in the face. The defence we're working at, it's tough for this group, it's been traditionally bad and I think we've made some gains. But from those first four wins to now, it's real apparent the ball isn't moving, it's sticking, it's a 'me mindset'. "I get the ball I'm gonna do my thing"...you ain't doing that against a well oiled machine like Perth. Now we've added a couple of guys to the rotation, it's become more seflish offensively."

"I mean it's all true. Goorj hasnt said anything that he wouldnt say to us in the locker room, it's all very true. We need to make a change. I think just mentally our approach to this game wasn't where it needs to be. They're a championship team, they came out with that championship intensity and we weren't ready for that and that's everyone...we don't wanna hear it I guess but it's the truth," guard Emmett Naar said.

The Road Ahead

Round 9 NBL Cup – Thursday March 11 at 7:30pm v Sydney Kings @ John Cain Arena, Melbourne

It'll be the second meeting this season for the NSW rivals after the Hawks snuck away with a narrow 85-82 victory over the Kings back on February 14 -  a week before the NBL Cup began in Melbourne.

All of a sudden 'The Freeway Series' has a lot more relevance this year, with the Hawks fast start and the Kings indifferent opening to the season meaning both squads are well and truly in playoff contention.

The teams will enter the game off a well earned break - the Hawks getting three days off after today's clash with the Wildcats - while the Kings won't have played since overcoming SE Melbourne 91-85 last Saturday evening.