Starting five spark Hawks to win against Taipans

The Illawarra Hawks have started their road trip in winning fashion, defeating the Cairns Taipans 94-75 on Saturday.

At the Cairns Convention Centre, all five of the Hawks’ starters scored in double-figures for the first time in NBL22, led by point guard Tyler Harvey, who scored 24 points, while also adding three rebounds, two assists and two steals.

The next best was NBA Next Star Justinian Jessup, who double-doubled with 17 points and 10 boards, all while shooting 6/7 from the field.

Rounding out the double-digit scorers for the Hawks were Antonius Cleveland and Reath (both 15) and Sam Froling (who recorded 11 points and 12 rebounds).

Leading the way for the Taipans was Tahjere McCall, who produced 19 points, seven rebounds and six assists in just 19 minutes, before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.

Keanu Pinder (15 points and 10 rebounds), Jordan Ngatai (12) and Majok Deng (10) also played strongly for the Taipans.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/YoungTRaaw?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@YoungTRaaw</a> wheels and deals before nailing the clutch triple ?<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>. <br> <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/1ushbz1j5T">pic.twitter.com/1ushbz1j5T</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1487334637970280451?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


The Hawks started the round nine fixture on fire, scoring on their first five trips down the court - to race out to a 10-3 lead.

Following a time-out, the visitors went on a 6-0 run, capped off by a steal by Jessup, leading to an easy lay-up for Cleveland - seeing the Hawks hit eight of their first nine shots.

But the hosts ended the term with six straight points, to go into the break down 23-20 to Illawarra - marking the first time the Taipans have not led at quarter-time all season.

The Hawks’ scoring woes continued in the second, as Brian Goorjian’s troops went three minutes without a point before Harvey nailed a step-back three from the top of the arc.

Despite Jessup and Reath combining to score 10 straight points for the Hawks, the Snakes remained within striking distance midway through the term - even though McCall was sitting on the bench with three fouls.

Four late points by Sam Froling ensured the Hawks led 43-40 at half-time.

That advantage stretched out to 11 early in the third quarter, thanks to five points each from Harvey and Cleveland.

This saw Adam Forde’s side revert to a full-court press, which troubled the Hawks and reduced their deficit to just three following a basket from Pinder.

But three straight triples, by Harry Froling, Tim Coenraad and Harvey, ensured the Hawks went into the last break up by nine (68-59).

Eastern Washington alum Harvey continued to cook in the fourth, scoring five of the Hawks’ first seven points on the term, as the lead moved to 10.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Relive Keanu Pinder&#39;s Kodak moment, proudly brought to you by <a href="https://twitter.com/ac_uno1?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ac_uno1</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/sumPvv73Wl">pic.twitter.com/sumPvv73Wl</a></p>&mdash; Illawarra Hawks Basketball (@illawarrahawks) <a href="https://twitter.com/illawarrahawks/status/1487359773771141120?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 29, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>


Illawarra continued their impressive fourth-quarter display, capped off by the moment of the game when Cleveland posterised Pinder for one of the dunks of NBL22.

From there, the Hawks cruised to their sixth win of the season, downing the hosts by 19 points 94-75 (the club's biggest winning margin in NBL22), marking the highest score on the Taipans all season.

That was largely due to an impressive 51 second-half points, the highest total the Hawks have produced in 20 minutes all campaign, helping them to their 14 win over the Snakes from their past 16 attempts.

Next up for the Hawks, who are now entrenched in the top four, is a clash with the New Zealand Breakers at Hobart’s MyState Bank Arena on Wednesday, from 7.30pm AEDT  - which will be broadcast on ESPN via Kayo Sports and Foxtel.