Boomers star makes up for lost time as Hawks bury their Kryptonite

The Illawarra Hawks have finally buried their bogey team, taming Cairns Taipans 96-78 at WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night to stay alive in the NBL finals race.

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Hawks coach Justin Tatum described Cairns as his team’s Kryptonite in the lead-up to the game and the Taipans stuck to the script early on, leading 49-45 at half-time.

But the defending champions played like super men in the second half and, by the final buzzer, Tatum had registered his first win from four attempts against the cellar-dwellers.

Illawarra turned defensive energy into an offensive explosion in the fourth quarter to end a three-game losing streak to Cairns on their home court, and improve their overall win-loss record to 8-13.

Wani Swaka Lo Buluk, Davo Hickey and Dan Grida provided the defensive spark as the Hawks opened the final term on a 19-5 run, including a 13-0 stretch, to blow the game open.

After conceding 31 points in the second quarter, Illawarra contained Cairns to 29 in the second half, and shared the scoring load with six players in double figures.

Tyler Harvey nailed four three-pointers in his team-high total of 18 points, big men JaVale McGee and Sam Froling had 16 each, QJ Peterson (14) and Grida (11) provided scoring punch off the bench, and Swaka Lo Buluk posted 10.

Illawarra’s next game is against South East Melbourne at the State Basketball Centre next Thursday, and Cairns (5-17) will travel to Bendigo to challenge Melbourne United on Wednesday.

HAWKS START HOT

Harvey and McGee had four points each as the Hawks jumped to an early 8-2 lead, which they stretched to 17-7 on a Hickey lay-up after six minutes.

Cairns struggled against Illawarra’s 2-3 zone early on but finished the quarter on an 11-5 run to cut the deficit to 22-18 at the first break.

McGee picked up his second foul in the final second of the quarter as he made contact with Jack McVeigh on a three-point attempt.

TAIPANS TAKE OVER

Quick baskets by McVeigh and Andrew Andrews tied the game at 22-22 just 35 seconds into the second period, prompting Tatum to call time out to read his players the riot act.

The teams traded baskets for the next two minutes then Cairns took their first lead on an Admiral Schofield three-pointer with 7min 10sec on the clock.

Sam Waardenburg (11 points) and McVeigh (seven) took over to guide the Taipans to a 31-point second quarter and a 49-45 lead at half-time.

McGee had 12 first-half points and eight rebounds for the Hawks but finished the second quarter on the bench after picking up his third foul late in the term.

FROLING ROLLING

In his third game back from a torn Achilles, Sam Froling played with no minutes restriction for Illawarra.

The Hawks needed every one of those as McGee found himself in foul trouble, and Froling maintained their presence in the paint in the third quarter as they made their comeback.

Froling fell short of a third straight double-double but still played a leading hand with 16 points, six rebounds and four assists.

JACK AND SAM EARLY SHOW

Boomers wing Jack McVeigh missed the Taipans’ 93-76 victory over the Hawks in Wollongong on December 6 so he could stay home for the birth of his first child.

The sweet-shooting swingman made up for lost time early on Saturday, sinking 16 first-half points to help Cairns build a 49-45 half-time lead.

But McVeigh was kept in check by Illawarra’s Wani Swaka Lo Buluk after the long break, and was held scoreless for the rest of the game.

Tall Blacks forward Sam Waardenburg also had the hot hand early on, knocking down 11 points in the second quarter, but had to settle for a team-high 17 by the final buzzer.

TOUGH CALL

The Hawks won but lost when they successfully challenged a foot violation call against Mason Peatling late in the third quarter.

Peatling had a three-pointer waved off when he was called for stepping on the sideline before launching the shot from the corner.

The video review showed his foot was in-bounds but the basket still did not count because the call was made before Peatling took his shot, so the Hawks had to be satisfied with their 61-58 lead and possession from the sideline.