![Hawks player Will Hickey attempts a layup during Monday night's clash with the Taipans at the WIN Entertainment Centre. Picture by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images Hawks player Will Hickey attempts a layup during Monday night's clash with the Taipans at the WIN Entertainment Centre. Picture by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/4sZx2UeLhML2LRYLyd2FGM/9ea4123a-bb08-4862-83a6-c0a579bc27e4.jpg/r0_162_3465_2118_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
They had patches of brilliance, but the Hawks have rung in the new year with another tight defeat, after falling 96-89 to Cairns in Wollongong on Monday night.
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The hosts showed plenty of ticker to fight back from a 18-point deficit in the second quarter, before ultimately falling short to slump to their seventh straight loss. In the end, Illawarra were forced to pay for another inconsistent performance.
Sam Froling was superb for the Hawks, finishing with a double-double (25 points and 13 rebounds), while his co-captain Tyler Harvey scored 21 points. For the Taipans, DJ Hogg and Shannon Scott combined for 34 points, 12 boards and nine assists.
The Hawks started well, opening up an early 11-2. The visitors then responded with back-to-back baskets before the game turned into an arm-wrestle, with Illawarra leading 16-9 with around four minutes left in the term.
Harvey got the crowd fired up when he launched a bucket from long range, but Taipan Ben Ayre responded almost immediately from long range. The hosts continued to fight hard in offence, however, big three-pointers to Sam Waadenburg, Mirko Djeric and Ayre helped Cairns cut the deficit to 24-22.
And it was Ayre who continued to loom large, taking his tally up to 15 points (6-8 from the field), as the visitors led 27-26 at the first break. Harvey and Froling had eight points apiece for the Hawks, while Deng mustered five points and three boards.
It was all Cairns to open the second, going on a 17-0 run, which included Majok Deng sinking successive threes. Incredibly, the visitors had scored the game's past 22 straight points.
Finally, Dan Grida was able to break the scoring drought, cutting the margin to 44-28. The play seemed to kick-start the Hawks, who scored the next 12 unanswered points to peg the deficit to 44-38.
Shannon Scott threatened to spoil any comeback by scoring the Taipans' next five points, before Froling responded with four points of his own. It was an arm-wrestle for the rest of the quarter, with DJ Hogg's buzzer-beater giving Cairns a 58-48 lead at the main break.
The Hawks looked more resolute early in the third quarter, but Hogg's three-pointer helped Cairns out to a 65-55 advantage. Hogg continued to prove a thorn in Illawarra's side, with the visitors leading 70-63 with three minutes left in the stanza.
Cairns then scored the next four points, before the Hawks steadied the ship, going on a 5-0 run to cut the margin to 74-68.
Will Hickey's late three-pointer then saw the Hawks peg the deficit to 74-71 at the final break.
Harvey got the Hawks rolling with a three to start the fourth, before a huge Froling dunk saw the hosts draw level at 76-76. Majok Deng settled things for the visitors with a three-pointer, but Illawarra continued to dig in, drawing level at 80-80.
Harvey's floater then gave Illawarra the lead for the first time since the opening quarter, but the joy was short-lived, as Hogg and Tahjere McCall bobbed up to score seven straight points for the visitors.
Lachie Dent's basket then cut the deficit to seven, before Scott and Swaka Lo Buluk traded three-pointers for their respective sides.
With one minute remaining, the Taipans led 94-89. Despite some frantic efforts in offence by Illawarra, it was Cairns who held on for a thrilling win, with Hogg's late two free throws rounding out the seven-point margin.
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