NBL Game of the Week: Last-Minute Thrills in Wollongong
Round 16 in the NBL consisted mostly of large blowouts which made the game between the Illawarra Hawks and the visiting Cairns Taipans stand out. Both teams had similar struggles coming into this one as they try to find some consistent form in the hunt for a playoff spot, which
After a slow start two separate five-point runs from Illawarra put them in the lead by seven. Cairns' forwards tried to cut difference but continued success from three-point territory saw the Hawks maintain their lead for the remainder of the opening quarter.
Gary Clark and A.J. Johnson started the second quarter scorching the Taipans, only for the
to respond with a 9-1 run, making it a one-point game. Clark and Tyler Harvey tried to keep the Hawks in front but late looks from Taran Armstrong and Patrick Miller gave the Taipans a four-point lead at the half.
Cairns held on to the lead after a back-and-forth re-start to the game, with Miller bringing their advantage out to eight. Close-range effort by Hawks prevented Cairns from further breaking away and after six points unanswered from Illawarra the scores were tied, but four points in the last few seconds of the third saw the Taipans go into the final phase ahead.
The final quarter of this increasingly heated match-up was tense with much of Cairns' points coming from the field and Illawarra's from the stripe. The Hawks kept the pressure on and kept a single possession between the teams down the stretch, Cairns now fighting to hold on to their lead.
After Six unanswered Illawarra regained the lead with a minute to go, but Tahjere McCall put Cairns back up by one with an and-one layup. On the opposite end Gary Clark drew a foul and hit two from the line, putting the Hawks in front with ten seconds left.
It all came down to the very last play, where Lat Mayen put up a buzzer-beating three, winning the game for the Taipans.
Ten players finished in double digits in this match-up, with Gary Clark the leading scorer with 36 for the losing Hawks. His team mate Sam Froling had 10 to go along with 11 total rebounds, while for the Taipans McCall finished with a highly impressive 28 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the highlight NBL game of the week.
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