The Illawarra Hawks have survived an almighty final second scare to claim a controversial win over the Tasmania JackJumpers on New Year’s Eve.
Trailing 92-90, the visitors thought they tied the game through Bryce Hamilton in the final second – but post-match replays showed the ball remained in Hamilton’s hand as the game clock ran out, meaning the basket didn’t count.
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It left Illawarra to hang onto the win at WIN Entertainment Centre, leaving some life left in their NBL title defence.
“Was that good?” Damon Lowery said.
“(McGee’s) hand goes through the net – I thought they might have called it?”
“Confusion reigns,” commentator Matt Russell added.
“The ball is still in the fingertips (when the game clock runs out). The Hawks celebrate – the champagne corks are popping early in the ‘Gong.
“He had to release the ball before time expired – he didn’t so the Hawks are home. There is a little asterisk with JaVale McGee’s fingertips in the net.
“Heart in mouth material.”
The Hawks led by 12 points on three occasions but needed that video review of Tasmania’s last shot of the game to secure just their seventh win of the season.
In his second game back from a torn Achilles, and his first start, Illawarra’s Sam Froling (16 points, 10 rebounds) posted a second straight double-double, and fellow big man JaVale McGee had 16 points, six rebounds and six blocked shots.
“Are we back? We’re close. We’re close,” Hawks coach Justin Tatum said.
“We’re competitive now. Today we were very competitive, and as we keep being competitive during the rest of the season, and we find a way to get into that top six, then I’ll answer that question again.”
JackJumpers forward Josh Bannan led all scorers with 25 points, and he, Tyger Campbell (18 points) and Johnson (16) did all they could to keep Tasmania in the match.
Having lost seven of their past nine going into the game, the Hawks will start the New Year with a 7-13 win-loss record, and Tasmania slipped to 10-13.
“We played our arse off,” Tasmanian coach Scott Roth said.
“We played as hard as we possibly can. That’s what we do every single night, so it’s all good by me. We keep showing up and [stay] in the fight, and it’s really, really pleasing.
“It’s frustrating, obviously, but the fight’s real with us.”
NYE FIREWORKS
New Year’s Eve fireworks went off early as players from both teams had to be separated after a skirmish late in the second quarter.
Illawarra’s Mason Peatling drew a blocking foul on Tasmania’s Nick Marshall, who then stood over the fallen JackJumper and let him know about it.
Josh Bannan came to Marshall’s defence and threw Peatling to the floor, attracting attention from Illawarra’s Davo Hickey, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk and Tyler Harvey.
The three-man referee crew reviewed the incident and issued technical fouls to Bannan and Peatling to cool things down.
MILESTONE MEN MAKE LATE IMPACT
Hickey and Swaka Lo Buluk had to settle for late supporting roles on a night when they both reached major milestones.
The unofficial MVP of the 2024-25 grand final series, Hickey came off the bench in his 100th NBL game for Illawarra, contributing eight points, four rebounds and three assists.
In his 200th overall NBL appearance, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk had to wait until midway through the fourth quarter to post his first points, but his corner three could not have been better timed as it gave the Hawks an 82-74 advantage.
Hickey’s assist for a Peatling basket gave the Hawks an 88-84 lead with 3min 22sec remaining, after Illawarra had seen a 12-point lead evaporate, then pulled down two offensive boards to recycle possession and grabbed a crucial steal.
He then partially blocked Johnson’s potential game-winning shot in the final seconds.
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