Match Report: Ballinger leads 36ers over Hawks

1/DEC/2008 – The Adelaide 36ers have kept their playoff hopes alive with a pulsating 101-96 triumph over the Wollongong Hawks at the Distinctive Homes Dome on Saturday.

The two sides traded blows all evening, the margins at the first three intervals were single figures before the Sixers managed to eke out a 12-point third quarter buffer at one stage but the Hawks refused to yield.

Adam Ballinger led the way for Adelaide with 26 points and eight boards. Brett Maher with a retro 21-point, six-rebound haul was just as influential while Julius Hodge (19 points, 11 boards, six assists, two blocks) found ways to get the job done despite his shot not dropping (eight-of-26 from the field).

For the Hawks, Cam Tragardh (23 points, 11-of-15 shooting) was almost the game-breaker, while Glen Saville (16 points, 10 boards) hurt Adelaide repeatedly.

With Saville playing like a man possessed early (six points, five boards, a steal and a block in the first period), Wollongong looked the goods and held sway for much of the opening quarter.

It was the injection of Maher into the line-up inspired Adelaide.

The Sixers captain, seemingly with a licence to shoot with impunity, netted 11 points for the term at 80 percent, including three treys to help Adelaide to a 26-23 quarter-time lead.

Wollongong commenced the second stanza with a 7-0 run to recapture the lead before Ballinger found his groove.

Ballinger deuced and then connected on a pair from the charity stripe courtesy of a technical foul on Saville to hand the lead back to the 36ers.

The American collected 15 points at 75 per cent to go with four rebounds for the quarter as Adelaide held sway 54-52 at the main interval.

Shooting at 38 per cent from the floor compared to Wollongong's 51 per cent clip in the first half, the Sixers' desperation and work on the glass (20 offensive boards, 35 overall) kept them in the contest entering the third term.

The 36ers emerged from the break ablaze, streaming out to 67-55 on a Hodge steal and breakaway dunk with 8:02 left, with the Hawks calling a much-needed time-out.

Wollongong finished the quarter with gusto, going 12-2 over the last 2:53, Saville icing a pair from the foul line with 1.4 seconds on the clock at the end of a clever long inbounds pass following a shot clock violation against Adelaide.

The momentum remained with the Hawks, who opened the fourth period with the first five points to reclaim the lead as Adelaide's offence dried up.

A Maher three from the corner broke the shackles and tied the contest at 89-apiece with 4:14 left, then the veteran skipper fed Ballinger for a jumper to give the Sixers back the lead.

It was short-lived, Kavossy Franklin bombing one from the car-park to hand the advantage back to Wollongong, the final 3:09 of the contest seeing five lead changes.

The 36ers edged ahead 99-96 on a pair of clutch Luke Schenscher free throws with 37 seconds left.

On the subsequent possession, Anthony Petrie's three attempt rimmed out and Saville snared the offensive board, but his foot touched the baseline, handing the ball back to Adelaide with 18 seconds left, enough time for the Sixers to hang on in a thriller.

Adelaide coach Scott Ninnis was more than happy to "win ugly" if it still meant winning.

"This was a must-win game, there was no ifs and buts about that," he said.

"The danger of that is there's an urgency and almot a desperation about getting the win that you can sometimes forget to go through the process and I thought that when we got that lead in the third quarter, I thought we could have kicked on with it."

"They (Wollongong) came back into the game. If you go back even two weeks, one week ago, that was a game we would have lost."

"While we've won ugly, I think character-building is probably a good word and it gives them (players) confidence going forward."

Hawks coach Eric Cooks felt his team was never out of the contest, but just couldn't apply the finishing touches.

"I thought we were in it all game," he said.

"10 points (down) isn't a lot when you're in the second or third quarter."

"Unfortunately they (Sixers) hit the big shots, they came to play tonight, they were real aggressive, they're a big team, they outrebounded us and that hurt us tremendously.

"We shot the ball pretty well in the first half but we still can't give up 20 (offensive) rebounds - that's too many."

The win gives the 36ers a 6-9 season ledger, while the Hawks drop to 6-8, with this their third loss on the trot.

Report by Sportal/NBL