A Bryce Cotton-inspired Wildcats handed the Illawarra Hawks another tough loss in Perth on Friday night.
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But the undermanned Hawks, who were missing the recently departed Mangok Mathiang, again showed a lot of heart early on.
The 106-86 blowout in the end did not adequately show how well the Hawks played, especially in the first half.
The visitors in fact led by as many as 11 points midway through the second quarter before going to the main break ahead 55-50.
But every time the Hawks looked like breaking away, that man Cotton could not be stopped, either scoring points himself or dishing off assists for his team-mates to score.
He finished with a season-high 40 points and added seven rebounds, four assists and one steal.
In the first quarter the Perth superstar played a lone hand for the Wildcats and led all scorers with 12 points.
Hawks big guns Tyler Harvey and Sam Froling also came out to play from the start on Friday night.
Hawks co-captains Froling (7 points) and Harvey (11) combined for 18 of the 25 points scored by the visitors in the first quarter.
Froling also pulled down four boards as the two teams went to the first quarter break level at 25-25.
The Hawks started the better and scored the first five points before Cotton hit the board for Perth.
Illawarra also started the better in the second quarter, scoring nine unanswered points to race to a 34-25 lead.
Midway through the quarter they extended the lead to 42-32 but Perth, desperate to make the finals, kept on coming back.
And it was that man Cotton, who kept producing the goods to keep his side in the game.
Cotton finished with 23 points for the half, including a three-point bomb in the dying seconds, which pulled Illawarra's lead to only five at the main break.
Cotton and Corey Webster (12) combined for 35 of the Wildcats 50 points for the half.
The Hawks on the other hand were getting great contributions from Harvey, whose 18 points came from five from nine shots, Froling (11 points, six rebounds and two assists), Deng Deng (10 points, two rebounds and one assist) and Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (seven points, three rebounds, two assists and one steal).
Illawarra shot the ball extremely well in the first half, making 54 per cent of their field goals, including 42 per cent from outside the three-point line.
But it was the home side Wildcats who came out big in the championship quarter, outscoring the Hawks 34-21 to head into the final stanza 84-78 to the good.
The Hawks tried hard but that man Cotton showed why he was again an NBL MVP favourite, adding another nine points in the quarter and bringing team-mates into the game.
Perth then scored six unanswered points to race out to a 12-point lead and all but secure their 14th win of the season.
Harvey (23 points) and Froling (21 points and 10 assists) led the Hawks, while Deng Deng (14 points, six boards and two assists) and Lo Buluk (9 points, four boards and two assists) also tried hard for the visitors.
But while Illawarra shot the ball well in the first half, the Jacob Jackomas-coached outfit struggled in the second half and were outscored 56-33 by the Wildcats.
The Hawks languish in last-place with a 3-23 win/loss record with just two home games to play against New Zealand Breakers and Tasmania JackJumpers.
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