Breakers rewrite record books
WELLINGTON: Illawarra signed off on a forgettable ANBL campaign with an embarrassing and recordbreaking 13096 loss to the New Zealand Breakers in Wellington last night.
In a meaningless encounter between two teams out of playoffs contention, the Breakers turned on an offensive razzle dazzle that the Hawks did not seem interested in halting in a dispirited display.
The home side racked up the highest score in the 10year history of 40minute games in the NBL.
It was the first team to reach 100 points through the first three quarters, prompting followers on social media to label the contest a Valentines Day massacre.
As the margin swelled to 30 points soon after halftime, the contest descended into a procession, with both coaches fielding their bench for most of the reminder and ignoring the need for a time out.
It was a painful experience for Hawks mentor Rob Beveridge, who looked haunted as his team saw out their 201819 campaign in miserable fashion.
The loss leaves his team with a final 1216 record, dropping it to seventh behind the Breakers (1215), who finish away to Brisbane tomorrow.
The home team sank 18 threepointers, five to Jarrad Weeks and four to fellow guard Corey Webster as the pair accumulated 19 and 18 points respectively.
Both were eclipsed by centre Shawn Long who was colossal in the first half on the way to 21 points and eight rebounds before sitting out most of the last 20 minutes.
Webster lauded the impact of the American and said it was disappointing he would not show his wares in the finals.
‘‘It’s a shame the playoffs were gone but we had to play with pride,’’ Webster said.