Hawkes win thriller
4 Dec 2009
BASKETBALL - The Wollongong Hawks spoilt the party for the New Zealand Breakers to claim a 93-91 win in a hotly contested National Basketball League clash at the North Shore Events Centre.
After trailing for almost the entirety of the game, the Hawks took the lead in the final minute to clinch a tight victory and hold onto their place at the top of the points ladder.
Wollongong point guard Tywain McKee (29) was outstanding for his side, far and away the top scorer and influential in securing a huge amount of fouls from the Breakers. McKee was well backed throughout the game by David Gruber (16).
Kirk Penney (23) and CJ Bruton (22) were once again the shining lights for the Breakers who continue their mid-season slump in a competition they were picked to lead.
Penney was into the action in the first minute when he found Bruton who opened the scoring for his side reaching his 700th point for the Breakers.
Bruton and Penney led the scoring for the Breakers with five points each while Tim Coenraad and Rhys Martin took control, each adding seven points for the Hawks.
Young Breaker Tom Abercrombie was on fire early in the second quarter, stealing the ball twice and setting Penney up down the other end as the Breakers stretched to a nine-point lead.
With not long to go in the half, Breakers veteran Tony Ronaldson nailed a huge three-pointer, bringing up 10,000 points in the league for the big forward, becoming the fifth player in history to do so.
Meanwhile Martin and McKee were setting the big Hawks' forwards up as best they could with excellent pace and passing under the immense pressure of the Breakers defense.
The Breakers did enough to hold the Hawks at bay for the remainder of the half however to take a 51-44 lead into the break with Penney the best of the two sides with 17 points.
The Breakers' accuracy had them in front, sinking 55.9 percent of their shots with Wollongong hitting 48.6 percent of its attempts.
The second half started slowly although Wollongong was clearly clawing its way back into the match before some fouls went the Breakers way.
A brilliant three-pointer from Oscar Forman saw the Breakers once again take control of the game.
A lacklustre period of play followed for the Breakers however and the Hawks attacked, getting to within one point of the homeside to end the third quarter at 69-68, setting up an all-out final quarter.
The Breakers started the final quarter well with Bruton nailing a three-pointer immediately, but Wollongong kept itself in the hunt, keeping within a shot of the lead.
The Hawks strung together a brilliant few minutes to equalise with New Zealand on 87 with a little over three minutes remaining in the match.
McKee continued his brilliance to strike at exactly the right time to edge his side in front with only 30 seconds left on the clock.
Time ran out for the Breakers though and the Hawks claimed a much-celebrated 93-91 win much to the obvious disappointment of the New Zealanders.
New Zealand Breakers 91 (Penney 23, Bruton 22, Ronaldson 12, Rickert 12)
Wollongong Hawkes 93 (McKee 29 , Gruber 16 , Davidson 13)
@North Shore Events Centre 03/12/09. Attendence: 1896
