Hawks shake out NBL rust
NBL favourites get their campaign off to impressive start
The Taylor Hawks have shown a year out of national basketball league action has done little harm by blowing away the Canterbury Rams with victory by 14 points in a Sunday afternoon match at the Pettigrew Green Arena in Taradale.
The 104-90 win celebrated the Hawks’ first Sal’s NBL match since losing the 2019 final but completed a dismal few days on the road for the Rams, who had bitten the dust by more than 20 in succumbing 95-74 to the Wellington Saints on Thursday night in Wellington.
It places the Hawks as one of four unbeaten sides in the 10-team competition, along with the Saints, Southland Sharks and Auckland Huskies who have each opened with twofrom-two.
The Saints and the Sharks face off in Wellington on Friday ahead of the Shark’ trip to Napier for the second of three home games launching the Hawks into their season.
The Hawks made a strong start and led 30-17 at the first quarter, 53-44 at the half and 75-66 at the threequarters mark, before coming home to the second-highest score of the nine-match opening round.
The match was headlined by the Hawks’ prolific offence and efficiency from the free-throw line, at 21 from
22, all five of the starters reaching double figures, headed by American import Devondrick “Sky” Walker’s 26 points from 39 minutes on-court, including six triples, five assists and five rebounds. Tall Black Derone Raukawa was on his tail with 25 points.
The Hawks began to stamp their authority midway through the opening quarter but were barely percolating for some time in the second, with the first seven attempts all failing to drop, letting the Rams get onto a 13-1 roll which closed the deficit to one.
Walker answered the crowd’s call for someone to spark something for the Hawks and closed the period with 11 points.
Forward Hyrum Harris, having arrived from Australian NBL side Cairns Taipans just a few days earlier amid question marks over whether he’d make it at all, justified the investment with 18 points as the Hawks kept the scoreboard operating, but needed a good final quarter after the margin had closed to just nine points at the final break.