Second-half surge powers Hawks to historic win

The Illawarra Hawks cemented their spot in the NBL top four on Friday, by defeating the Cairns Taipans 79-54 at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

The impressive win, which is the Hawks’ second against the Taipans in less than a week was set up by an impressive second-half surge - where the hosts outscored the opponents 38-17 after the break.

That total of 54 by the Snakes is the lowest against any Hawks team in NBL history (1257 games played since 1979) - breaking the 1980 mark of 56 by Canberra.

Leading the way in the victory was Duop Reath, who tallied 16 points, five rebounds, two steals, one assist and one steal.

Antonius Cleveland was the other Hawk to shine, notching 15 points, seven rebounds, three blocks and one steal and assist.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/xrm_22?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@xrm_22</a> with ice in his veins ?<br><br>?: <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/k3Mzs9PIX0">pic.twitter.com/k3Mzs9PIX0</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1494603904801116162?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Other to standout in triumph were Xavier Rathan-Mayes (nine points, seven rebounds and four assists) and Sam Froling (six points and 10 rebounds).

These statistics, as well as winning the assists (16-9), points in the paint (42-32), bench points (27-19) and fast-break points (10-2).

In the loss, Majok Deng (11 points) was the only Taipan to reach double-figures.

Both teams started hot from the field, trading baskets through the first five minutes before a three from bench forward Tim Coenraad put the host up 15-11.

Following a time-out, the visitors rattled off seven straight points - including four from Deng.

Scoring dried up in the final stages of term number one, as the Taipans led 21-17 at quarter-time.

Brian Goorjian’s troops came out more determined in the second, thanks to six quick points from Reath, as the Hawks regained the lead 25-23.

That lead was short-lived, as the Snakes rattled off 10 of the next 14 points to go back up by four with three minutes to play in the term.

A crafty three-pointer as the shot-clock expired by Rathan-Mayes helped the Hawks back in front, before an alley-oop connection by Justinian Jessup and Sam Froling, followed by a triple by Tyler Harvey steered the hosts to a four-point lead at the break.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Justinian Jessup finds Slammin&#39; <a href="https://twitter.com/samfroling_?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@samfroling_</a> for the alley-oop jam ?<br><br>?: <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNAusNZ?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ESPNAusNZ</a> via <a href="https://twitter.com/kayosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@kayosports</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/Foxtel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Foxtel</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WeAreIllawarra?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WeAreIllawarra</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/FlyAsOne?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#FlyAsOne</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NBL22?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NBL22</a> <a href="https://t.co/kspgrvldAo">pic.twitter.com/kspgrvldAo</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1494605767147548672?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 18, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Goorjian’s troops carried that momentum into the second stanza, opening the term on a 7-4 run - highlighted by an athletics dunk by Cleveland.

The Memphis product energised the hosts during the term, with six of the first 11, as well as a number of handy assists and rebounds.

A late triple by Harry Froling, off of a crafty Rathan-Mayes dish, gave the Hawks a 57-46 lead at three-quarter-time.

Cleveland’s stand-out performance continued in the fourth, as the Hawks opened up a 15-point lead following yet another high-flying slam by the forward.

The Hawks kept their foot on the throat, scoring the first 12 points of the term and holding the Snakes scoreless for the first six minutes.

A 22-8 fourth-quarter performance by the hosts secured the 25-point win - to cement Illawarra’s position in the top four.

The Hawks, who improve to 8-6, next face the JackJumpers on Sunday at the WIN Entertainment Centre from 5.30pm AEDT - with tickets available via Ticketmaster.