Blowing big leads has become a disturbing trademark of the Wollongong Hawks.Last night the Hawks let a 15-point lead slip in the third quarter to go down 61-59 to the Cairns Taipans at WIN Entertainment Centre.The loss left Wollongong’s record at 3-12, while their home record is a woeful 1-8.
Full coverage of the Hawks Forward Oscar Forman led the Hawks with 19 points and seven rebounds, Rhys Martin had 16 points, while Glen Saville finished with six points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals.Drew Warren top-scored for Cairns with 17 and Jamar Wilson and Ian Crosswhite each had 10.The Hawks had a chance to steal victory at the death but Martin’s three-pointer was off target.Crosswhite scored the game’s opening basket, before Mat Campbell nailed a difficult shot in the paint to get the Hawks going.As usual, rebounding proved to be Wollongong’s Achilles heel, as the Taipans grabbed a whopping seven offensive boards in the first quarter.Despite giving up too many extra possessions, the Hawks were taking the ball aggressively inside at the offensive end, building a 10-8 lead after five minutes.But the visitors capitalised on a few sloppy Wollongong turnovers, scoring six unanswered points.Forman hit a short runner from the baseline to break the drought and Cairns held a 14-12 lead after one period.Sparked by Forman and Saville, the Hawks regained the upper hand early in the second quarter, with Saville taking his career tally to 7000 points on a jump-shot.Larry Davidson and Martin chipped in baskets, while Joevan Catron provided an important boost off the bench with a steal and lay-up.For the first time in a long time, the Hawks were clicking and the fans were smiling again.When the lead swelled to 31-19, Cairns coach Aaron Fearne called for a time-out to try to rally his side.The home team refused to buckle, out-hustling the Taipans over the final minutes of the quarter and skipping into the locker room with a well-deserved 33-21 lead.Best of all, the Hawks had profoundly turned the tables in the rebounding department, snatching 12 boards to the Taipans’ three in the second period to hold a 19-15 edge at the main break.They had also held their opponents to just 29 per cent shooting while achieving 45 per cent of their own field goal attempts.Forman was the key with 13 points and four rebounds and Saville’s impact (six points, four rebounds, two steals) was telling.Martin splashed a long three-pointer to re-ignite the Hawks and the margin was 15 when Davidson hit a pair of free throws.But the Taipans would not lie down, scoring eight straight points and forcing coach Gordie McLeod to burn a time-out.Cairns continued to surge when play resumed, swiftly racking up another 13 unanswered points to take a 44-40 lead and leaving Wollongong fans stunned.Showron Glover’s free throw stopped the run, but the Hawks managed just eight points in the third period and trailed 46-41 with a quarter to play.Cairns continued to hold sway throughout the final quarter and led by seven with four minutes to go.But the Hawks mounted one last revival, with Tyson Demos making a three and Forman adding back to back threes going to 57-all.The small crowd of 2713 went wild when Davidson’s shot gave Wollongong a two-point lead, only to be silenced moments later by Cairns import Warren’s cold-blooded three.Alex Loughton made one of two free throws to put the Taipans up by two, leaving the Hawks 4.7 seconds to fire up a game-winner.They freed up Martin but his three-point bid from the left corner was long. CAIRNS TAIPANS 61 (A Warren 17 B Hill 12 I Crosswhite 10 J Wilson 10) bt WOLLONGONG HAWKS 59 (O Forman 19 R Martin 16 L Davidson 6 G Saville 6) at WIN Entertainment Centre.
