Breakers too strong for Hawks

The New Zealand Breakers proved too strong for the Illawarra Hawks as they recorded a 96-81 ANBL road victory on Saturday night.

Shawn Long (24 points, 11 rebounds, five blocks) and Tai Wesley (23 points, seven rebounds) were dominant under the basket as the Breakers outscored Illawarra 48-36 in the paint. Both teams saw their faint finals hopes dashed after losses on Thursday night, but the Breakers looked more determined to finish on a high as they overwhelmed a lacklustre Hawks outfit on their home floor.

The seventh-placed Breakers made the better of a scrappy opening term then held the lead for the rest of the match, giving them the opportunity to move above the Hawks on the ladder in the final round.

‘‘For our group, this is probably what we expected game after game,’’ Breakers coach Kevin Braswell said, after his side controlled the contest from start to finish.

‘‘We haven’t fully come together [this season] but I thought the guys showed what we are made of.’’

Brian Conklin battled hard for the Hawks with 20 points but received little support outside of fellow import Jordair Jett (14).

Illawarra coach Rob Beveridge felt his side struggled to bounce back following Thursday’s deflating loss in Brisbane.

‘‘It really hit hard and with such a tight turnaround, I think it was really difficult, particularly mentally, to really get up for tonight,’’ Beveridge said.

Illawarra close out their season with an away clash in New Zealand on Thursday night, while the Breakers play the Bullets in Brisbane on Saturday for their final game.