Dusty ensures Sixers stay unbeaten at Blitz

The Adelaide 36ers remain undefeated at the NBL Blitz and set the fuse for a cracking season opener next Friday with Dusty Hannahs catching fire with 13 straight points to help deliver a 97-93 win on Friday over the Perth Wildcats.

The Sixers had been supremely impressive at the Blitz in Tasmania leading into Friday's game with wins already over the Wildcats, Cairns Taipans and Tasmania JackJumpers, but they had to do things the hard way at Launceston's Elphin Sports Centre.

Without big men Isaac Humphries and Kai Sotto, Adelaide found themselves down 16 points midway through the third quarter and staring down their first defeat at the Blitz and under new head coach CJ Bruton.

However, when the game was on the line, enter Dusty Hannahs who delivered a patch of basketball down the stretch that simply had to be seen to be believed.

The new 36ers import ensured he'll be a crowd favourite already next Sunday for the first home game of the season against the Illawarra Hawks by his individual 13-2 run.

He knocked down three three-pointers along with a mid-range pull up jumper and a driving layup in that stretch that took the Sixers from trailing the Wildcats by five points to leading by six, and then going on to win the game by four.

On the back of that, Hannahs finished the game with 19 points by shooting 6/10 from the field, 3/6 from three-point range and 4/4 from the charity stripe.

Todd Withers is Adelaide's second import for #NBL22 and he was impressive too especially early when he knocked down three bombs from downtown before finishing the game with 19 points, three rebounds and three steals.

Daniel Johnson continues to warm up impressively for another season in Adelaide with 16 points and six rebounds while Cam Bairstow got the start and took the chance with 12 points, four boards and two assists.

Sunday Dech added nine points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals while Mojave King contributed seven points and three steals, Zac Gattorna five points and two assists, and captain Mitch McCarron five points, nine assists, five rebounds, two steals and two blocked shots.

Nick Marshall also had three points and three rebounds for the Sixers, and Lachlan Olbrich two points, a rebound and an assist.

Todd Withers offered a glimpse into what he's going to provide this NBL season with an early three-pointer for Adelaide before Daniel Johnson continued his hot Blitz form with a three of his own to keep scores tied with the Wildcats.

Cam Bairstow started and did well to keep the 36ers close as well in the opening period and Withers knocked down another pair of three-pointers in an impressive first period.

The Sixers then took the lead by quarter-time thanks to a three ball on the buzzer from Next Star Mojave King.

Perth regained the lead early in the second period but a couple of consecutive buckets to Daniel Johnson saw Adelaide draw back level midway through the quarter. 

His three-point play brought the Sixers back in front briefly and while the Wildcats led 61-52 at the half-time break, both teams had likely delivered the best quality half of the Blitz so far.

Bairstow and Withers gave Adelaide a strong start to the second half but Perth maintained their edge and led by as much as 16 points during the third quarter, and still by nine at three quarter-time.

Perth still was up seven when Law knocked down a three-pointer with seven minutes remaining, but it wasn’t long until it was Dusty Hannahs' time to shine just a week out from officially making his NBL debut.

The Little Rock, Arkansas native has looked cool and composed in his first three Blitz outings, but it was time for him to become a flat out killer on Friday night in Launceston down the stretch.

It started with a driving layup to bring Adelaide back within three points before he knocked down a three-point bomb to tie scores up with five minutes on the clock.

Hannahs then nailed another from downtown to give the Sixers the 87-86 edge and soon after his defender Kevin White got under his skin. The former Adelaide captain ruffled the feathers of Hannahs with words exchanged and both earning a tech foul.

It only served to fire Hannahs up further though. He hit a pretty looking mid-range pull up jumper and then after Mitch McCarron stole it off Law up one end, he ran the floor, delivered a pass between his legs backwards to a wide open Hannahs.

It was no surprise to see Hannahs drain another three ball and all of a sudden he had scored 13 straight Adelaide points, and gone on an individual 13-2 run to turn a five-point deficit into a six-point lead.

The Sixers held on from there to win by four points and remain undefeated after four games at the Blitz with one game to go on Sunday against Brisbane.

The 36ers now have one more game in Tasmania at the Blitz on Sunday against the Brisbane Bullets before heading to Perth to take on the Wildcats on Friday night in the #NBL22 season opener.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL BLITZ

ADELAIDE 36ERS 97 (Withers 19, Hannahs 19, Johnson 16)

PERTH WILDCATS 93 (Law 24, Hayes-Brown 13, Cotton 12) 

BOX SCORE