AND that's a wrap. One of the toughest seasons in Illawarra Hawks history is done and dusted after Matt Flinn's side went down 98-82 to league leaders Sydney at Qudos Bank Arena on Friday night.
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It was a performance that told the story of their season - high on effort, but outclassed, outgunned and undermanned in a heavy defeat to the title favourites.
It sees them finish at 5-23, an all-time low for the foundation franchise, but it was once again came on the back of performance belying that fact - chiefly a career-high 26 points from Sunday Dech.
It came at tidy 11-17 from the field in what's an exclamation point on a breakout campaign for the 26-year-old, but it never looked like putting the Hawks in the game.
All-NBL First Team favourite Jae'sean Tate led the Kings with 19 points, while Casper Ware also had 19 points at 5-11 from long range. Brad Newley (13) and Deshon Taylor (12) were also in double figures as the hosts cruised to their first minor premiership since 2008.
Dech's game-high 26 points was a virtual lone hand for the Haws, with the exception of Angus Glover's 15 points and eight rebounds, with no other Hawk in double figures as their season petered out.
It'll see the Hawks move into an off-season of uncertainty surrounding club ownership and the make up of the roster going forward but, it's those performances that ensure the season was not a total loss.
Defence took a back seat in the opening quarter, with both sides going end to end after Ware opened proceedings with a three. Tate had a pair from long-range while AJ Ogilvy also got in on the act from deep.
Todd Blanchfield had five, while Josh Boone had four as the scores locked at 15 apiece midway through the term. Newley had four on a 9-0 run, the first mini-break of the game.
Dech got going with six straight points before trading threes with Ware to finish with 13 points for the quarter that saw the visitors trail 31-26.
Lisch and Dave Andersen traded threes to start the second before Bogut sparked a 10-0 run punctuated by Tate's their triple as the lead swelled to 13. Dan Grida pegged it back with the first of two threes for the term as the margin sat at 10.
It looked likely to stay that way at the break before Ware beat the buzzer with a deep triple to take a 57-43 lead to the main interval.
The pace slowed dramatically in the third, with just 15 points scored through almost seven minutes. It finally picked up down the stretch, with Newley sparking things with a three.
Deshon Taylor followed suit, while Glover moved to double figures with a pair of threes and Ware again had the final say of the term with his fourth three in a quarter that saw just 31 points scored.
He had his fifth early in the fourth as the margin ballooned to 20. It's where the margin stayed for the remainder of another slow-scoring term that ultimately ended with the hosts leading by 16 at the final buzzer.