Hawks give Breakers close call
The New Zealand Breakers held on during a wild fourthquarter shootout to record a thrilling 78-76 victory over the Wollongong Hawks at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday.
New Zealand were pushed to brink as the desperate Hawks unleashed a series of late bombs, but rode the steady hands of CJ Bruton and Tom Abercrombie down the stretch to improve to 12-3.
Bruton’s three-point dagger with just under a minute to play proved the difference, the Hawks coming up with an inbounds steal on the final play of the game but were unable to convert.
Cedric Jackson was a force at both ends of the floor, coming up with 11 points, six assists and five steals, while Will Hudson and Alex Pledger led the way up front with 14 points apiece.
Rhys Martin was brilliant in leading Wollongong with a career-high 28 points, but with his frontline rendered ineffective and Adris Deleon unable to bag a field goal (0-of6) the Hawks suffered their third consecutive loss.
The Hawks welcomed back Tim Coenraad, who drained a long two-pointer on his first touch of the season to give the Hawks an early seven-point buffer, before claiming the first quarter 20-16.
Pledger began exploiting the Hawks interior midway through the second stanza as New Zealand used a 14-4 surge to skip ahead 41-33.
Martin single-handedly salvaged the half for Wollongong by draining three consecutive long-range bombs in the final 90 seconds to pull the Hawks within 43-42.
As both teams scrounged for baskets in the third, Martin continued to be the catalyst for Wollongong, coming up with a late breakaway lay-up and triple but the Breakers cashed in from the free-throw line to lead 62-56.
New Zealand kept finding answers in the fourth as Wollongong played catchup for most the period, using threes from Martin, Lance Hurdle and Oscar Forman to survive until Bruton ultimately decided it. New Zealand Breakers 78 (Hudson 14, Pledger 14, Jackson 11), Wollongong Hawks 76 (Martin 28, Hurdle 12, Forman 11).