Record crowd sees 36ers fire home late

Adelaide 36ers have swooped home late to defeat Illawarra Hawks 103-95 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre on Friday night.

The home side were starring at an eight-point deficit with just over four minutes remaining but went on a blistering 17-0 run in crunch time to close out the eight-point success in front of another record crowd of 9308 fans..

Daniel Johnson scored a team-high 18 points to go with eight rebounds, while Antonius Cleveland sparked the 36ers against his former club with 16 points, five rebounds and five assists.

Anthony Drmic started with back-to-back three-pointers, scoring Adelaide’s first seven points, but the Hawks were scoring with ease at the other end, Michael Frazier II getting going early, scoring 11 first quarter points.

As quick as Adelaide built an early lead, the Hawks fired back, Frazier II hitting his second triple of the match to give the visitors an 18-15 lead.

Ian Clark gave instant impact off the bench, connecting on consecutive triples to give Adelaide back the lead as the 36ers took a 23-19 advantage after the opening 10 minutes.

Kai Sotto, who has made his new starting spot his own, struggled with early foul trouble, picking up three quick personals but again was having an impact at both ends of the floor.

Adelaide looked ominous to extend their lead on multiple occasions, but the Hawks stayed in the contest with some tough offensive rebounding.

Sunday Dech then connected on a three-pointer from the corner to give the home side a 46-37 lead and Daniel Johnson became a focus offensively, scoring 12 points in the opening half points.

Tyler Harvey then stunned the Adelaide Entertainment Centre crowd with a three-pointer from almost centre court on the half time buzzer, but the 36ers took a 50-47 lead into the main break.

Harvey’s hot hand continued to start the second half, his third three-pointer tied the game at 55-55, Wani Swaka Lo Buluk then banked in a triple and when Deng Deng scored, the Hawks had a 60-57 lead.

Cleveland then put the home side on his shoulders, scoring five points in-a-row to give the 36ers back the lead, then Hyrum Harris converted inside for a 64-60 lead. 

But Harvey continued his impressive night, stepping up after Frazier II was left on the bench with a left forearm injury.

Tim Coenraad gave the Hawks a 74-73 lead, then Drmic gave Adelaide back the advantage with a tough layup, but Sam Froling levelled the game at 75-75 with 10 minutes to go.

The visitors started the final quarter with confidence, Swaka Lo Buluk stealing the ball from Clark for a breakaway dunk to give the Hawks an 81-77 lead.

Cleveland again picked his side up, getting into the passing lanes to tie away the game at 81-81, but the Hawks then scored the next eight points to take a 89-81 lead with just over four minutes remaining in the contest.

Then Adelaide sparked to life, a Clark three, a Cleveland triple, a McCarron tip in, back-to-back three-pointers from Franks and clutch free throw shooting saw the 36ers go to a 11-9 record.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 103 (Johnson 18, Clark 16, Cleveland 16) def ILLAWARRA HAWKS 95 (Harvey 22, Deng 19, Froling 14) at Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

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