Halloween was more like fright night for the Illawarra Hawks as the defending NBL champions crashed to an embarrassing 102-60 loss to New Zealand Breakers at WIN Entertainment Centre in Wollongong on Friday.
Just three weeks after humbling the Hawks 117-88 at Spark Arena in Auckland, the Breakers repeated the dose in Wollongong to improve their win-loss record to 3-7.
Illawarra welcomed back Will “Davo” Hickey from an eye injury that had sidelined him since the pre-season, and new import QJ Peterson, but their inclusion was not enough to spark the struggling Hawks, who fell to 2-5 before a trip to Adelaide on Sunday.
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Snapping a seven-game road losing streak, it was the best possible response for the Breakers after they squandered an 18-point lead in a heartbreaking 84-83 home-court loss to Brisbane last Thursday.
“I first want to apologise to our fans and our members for the lack of effort that we gave today as a whole and as a team. We’ll definitely do better next home game next Wednesday,” Illawarra Hawks NBL coach Justin Tatum said.
“I tip my hat to New Zealand for coming in and doing what they were supposed to do on the road. It was a tough day at the office for us, and we’re looking to bounce back on Sunday …
“As professionals, I felt that they should have found some energy and some effort to try to put up a better fight.”
HAWKS’ HALLOWEEN HORROR SHOW
The Hawks made a horrible start and went from bad to worse the longer the game went.
They were held to just 10 third-quarter points, and their tally of 60 points was the equal lowest of any team this season, as they struggled to establish any cohesion offensively and were equally ineffective trying to stop the Breakers from scoring.
In his first appearance of the season, wearing goggles to protect his eye injury, Hickey had a few early highlights with back-to-back assists for Jonah Bolden and Dan Grida.
But the usually inspirational Boomers guard managed just six points, mostly in garbage time, was guilty of five turnovers, and conceded a technical foul late in the second quarter for throwing the ball away after being called for flopping.
Peterson, signed as an import replacement for JaQuori McLaughlin, was cleared to make his NBL debut earlier on Friday but Hawks fans will be hoping for improved performances in the weeks ahead.
The well-travelled American guard, who arrived from the Dominican Republic in time to avoid the wrath of Hurricane Melissa, scored just four points on one-of-10 shooting and committed two turnovers.
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FAST START
Taking advantage of five Illawarra turnovers and off-target Hawks shooting (39%), the Breakers took control from the start to post their highest first-quarter tally of the season and build a 31-18 lead.
Sam Mennenga (nine) and Izaiah Brockington (seven) led the first-quarter scoring spree as the Breakers out-muscled the Hawks in the paint and on the boards.
That trend continued in the second quarter as the Breakers stretched their advantage to 52-34 by half-time, holding the Hawks to their lowest first-half total this season.
Mennenga finished with a game-high 21 points and 11 rebounds and was one of six Breakers to score in double figures. Rob Baker added 19, and Karim Lopez (14), Brockington (12), Parker Jackson-Cartwright (11) and Carlin Davison did the early damage.
BATTLE SCARS
Breakers big man Karim Lopez left the game early in the third quarter with a cut left eye, courtesy of an accidental head clash with Hawks big man Mason Peatling.
The 18-year-old NBA Draft prospect returned at the start of the fourth quarter with his head bandaged and finished with 14 points, eight rebounds, five assists and two steals.
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