The Wollongong Hawks kick-started their bid for an NBL top six berth with Saturday night's 111-99 romp over an out-classed Sydney Spirit at WIN Entertainment Centre.
Six Hawks scored in double figures, led by Mat Campbell's 20 points (5/7 three-pointers).
Forward Glen Saville ensured his homecoming was memorable, finishing with 15 points, eight rebounds and four assists.
Wollongong were up by nine at half-time and led by as many 28 in the fourth quarter before allowing the visitors to finish with a flurry of points.
"It was mostly good for three and a half quarters, but I didn't like the way we finished it. We were too careless with the ball and didn't run back hard enough in those last few minutes," Hawks coach Eric Cooks said.
"The game was already over in the fourth, but that's no excuse because we're about building for the long season and we've got to get better at finishing the game."
Missing from the Hawks was centre Cam Tragardh. Last season's NBL Most Improved Player will undergo tests on an injured groin today and is confident of being fit for his team's next game, a road clash with Perth on October 1.
Cooks showcased the Hawks' underrated bench, using nine players before the end of the first quarter and eventually giving development squad players Tim Labka and James Quinn fleeting cameos in the final minute.
Dusty Rychart was solid with 16 points and seven rebounds, Anthony Petrie shone with 13 and seven, while Kavossy Franklin finished with 15 points, seven assists and three steals.
Larry Davidson added 11 points and two blocks, Dan Jackson (nine points, four rebounds) did a great job backing up a foul-plagued Saville, and Rhys Carter (seven points, five rebounds, two steals, one block) was highly effective in his home debut for the club.
"I have a very deep bench. All the guys can play," Cooks said.
"Dan Jackson had a very good game, Rhys can definitely play, Petrie was real tough, and we've still got Cam Tragardh to come back. We shared the ball well, and that was shown in the 27 assists we had as a team."
The Hawks made 11/19 threes compared to Sydney's dismal 4/21 clip.
However, the home side racked up 23 turnovers and gave up a whopping 31 offensive rebounds.
The Spirit got 33 points directly from offensive boards and might've made a game of it had they made more free throws (17/31).
"They're a pretty big team and they do rebound well, especially offensive boards. They hurt us last year in that area and we knew it would be an issue," Cooks said.
"We addressed it at half-time and we know we've got to get better at that. We're a small line-up at times and we've gotta have all five players finding bodies and crashing the boards at the defensive end."
Cooks initially didn't warm to the idea of a 10-day break.
However, the lay-off will allow Tragardh to recover and give his side ample time to prepare a defensive plan to shut down the Wildcats.
"I didn't appreciate the break a week ago, but I definitely appreciate it now," Cooks said.
"Trigger should be right for Perth and the time off will give us the opportunity to finetune some things on the training court."
Email a friend