An unusually out of sorts Wollongong crashed to their first home loss of the season last night at WIN Entertainment Centre.
Previously unbeaten after six games at the WEC, the Hawks were thoroughly outplayed by a more purposeful 36ers, copping a 82-59 hiding to slip to 7-5 for the season.
Adelaide (7-4) jumped from third into equal first with Perth and will be feeling good about their chances of conquering the Crocodiles tomorrow night in Townsville.
Full coverage of the Wollongong Hawks Spearheading the Sixers' assault was American guard John Gilchrist (30 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals), while former Wollongong imports Adam Ballinger (16 points, two blocks) and Cortez Groves (eight) enjoyed returning to their old court.
Guard Tywain McKee (18) was Wollongong's best, and Glen Saville and Dave Gruber got 13 rebounds apiece.
But there was little or nothing to like about the Hawks' overall performance.
They have eight days to rediscover their hunger before facing the Breakers next Thursday in New Zealand.
Poor shooting proved costly for Wollongong last night.
While the 36ers were clicking from start to finish, the Hawks were confoundingly bad, misfiring all night at a miserable 28 per cent for the game.
The comparatively easy process of foul shooting also proved to be difficult, with Wollongong missing a mind-boggling 13 of their 27 free throws.
Coming off an 11-day break, the Hawks looked rusty and nervous, missing shots and turning over possession with unforced errors.
Adelaide were on fire at the other end of the court, with former Hawks import Groves and Gilchrist setting the tone in the opening four minutes by sparking the visitors to a 14-3 lead.
The American duo seemed intent on proving they could beat their defenders at will, hitting three-pointers and driving in the paint to pace the Sixers to a 25-16 quarter-time lead.
Gilchrist and Groves combined for 17 points, as Adelaide connected on 56 per cent of their shots in the quarter.
Wollongong were terrible by comparison, hitting just 28 per cent.
McKee was the most efficient with seven points, while Cam Tragardh had four points and four rebounds.
The Hawks started the second period in a positive frame of mind, switching from man-to-man to a zone defence and quickly trimming the margin to 25-20.
But the Sixers responded with another scoring surge, forcing coach Gordie McLeod to burn his second time-out with the Hawks behind 35-25.
The home side continued to struggle at the offensive end despite McLeod's pep talk, labouring to its lowest scoring half of the year.
Worse still, their trademark uncompromising defence was nowhere to be seen, with Gilchrist doing as he pleased on the way to 20 first-half points.
A confident Adelaide cruised into the locker room with a 49-33 lead at the main break, highlighted by 55 per cent shooting.
The Hawks hit just 12/36 shots and were an ordinary 7/12 at the free throw line.
McKee had a team-high nine points, Tragardh was up to eight and Saville had seven.
Gilchrist needed just two minutes of the third quarter to lift his total to 25, ensuring the Sixers maintained a comfortable cushion.
McKee did his best to light a fire under his side, but the intensity, energy and slick execution which formed the backbone of their six straight home wins were non-existent and the crowd of 2900 went home disappointed.
Email a friend