Humphries, Kell fire, but Sixers fall to Hawks

An impressive display from Isaac Humphries and a triple double from Trey Kell was not enough as Illawarra Hawks took a 91-84 win against Adelaide 36ers at WIN Entertainment Centre on Sunday night.

Illawarra fired in the third quarter, outscoring Adelaide 31-12 after Humphries dominated the first half at both ends of the court.

Humphries scored a game-high 26 points to go with nine rebounds and a block, while DJ Vasiljevic added 17 points to go with four rebounds.

Import swingman Kell was everywhere for the 36ers, recording a triple double of 16 points to go with 12 assists, 10 rebounds and also picking up three steals.

The Hawks were led by Justin Robinson, who scored a team-high 19 points, while Gary Clark added 14 points to go with 12 rebounds.

Adelaide looked to attack the hoop from the opening tip, scoring the first eight points in the paint as the 36ers opened an early 8-3 lead.

Humphries was prominent early for the 36ers, but the Hawks went on a 7-0 run to take the lead 10-8.

Mason Peatling had an instant impact off the bench for the Hawks, scoring six points as Illawarra took a 19-12 lead into quarter time.

Adelaide started the second quarter scoring the opening four points through Alex Starling and Humphries as the 36ers looked to gain some momentum.

Humphries continued to score, but Illawarra extended their lead to 25-18 as the 36ers’ offense dried up despite the impact from the 2018 NBL Rookie if the Year.

The former Atlanta Hawk was everywhere for Adelaide and was the reason the 36ers kept in the contest and when Vasiljevic came up with a steal for a layup, the game was tied at 31-31.

Vasiljevic connected from downtown to give Adelaide back the lead 34-31 and Kell then made an impact on the contest.

Kell scored eight points in the second quarter, but it was Humphries who dominated the opening 20 minutes, scoring 20 points, and grabbing six rebounds as Adelaide took a 41-40 lead into the main interval.

Illawarra scored the opening two baskets of the second half to retake the lead and the Hawks went on a 12-2 run to open up a 52-43 advantage.

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The Hawks continued their hot shooting to start the second half, connecting on nine of the first 10 field goals in the third quarter as Illawarra’s lead increased to 63-45.

Humphries looked to continue his inside dominance, but the shots stopped dropping for Adelaide as the 36ers’ offense stalled and the Hawks took advantage to take a 71-53 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Jason Cadee sparked the 36ers to start the final quarter, making a tough layup, then swishing a three-pointer to cut the Hawks’ lead to 71-58.

Illawarra had all the answers to every challenge made by the 36ers, Vasiljevic made back-to-back three-pointers to cut the margin back to 81-70, but Robinson made all the right moves down the stretch.

Adelaide is back on home court next Saturday night when the 36ers host Melbourne United at the Entertainment Centre.

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 91 (Robinson 19, Clark 14, Swaka Lo Buluk 12) def ADELAIDE 36ERS 84 (Humphries 26, Vasiljevic 17, Kell 16) at WIN Entertainment Centre.

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