Sixers can't quite complete comeback against Hawks

The Adelaide 36ers fought valiantly to fire back and break level with the Illawarra Hawks in the third quarter after a 19-point deficit, but couldn’t quite complete the job in Wollongong on Friday night.

The Sixers arrived at WIN Entertainment Centre for Friday's game on the back of a win on Sunday at home to the Cairns Taipans and on a mission to make up for losses to the Hawks in the previous two meetings this season.

The start for the Sixers was far from ideal, though, with the Hawks opening up an 8-2 advantage in the opening minutes. By early in the second quarter, that had turned into a 19-point lead for Illawarra but the 36ers were able to pull the deficit back to 13 by half-time.

Then Adelaide came out on fire to open the second half. Triples to Sunday Dech and Daniel Johnson started the comeback, then they hit another three apiece to suddenly break even late in the third period.

However, from there the Hawks were able to take the game back over and outscore the 36ers 30 points to 14 over the final 12 minutes to claim the eventual 87-71 victory.

Sunday Dech was on fire shooting from beyond the arc again on his old home floor going 5/8 for Adelaide on his way to 18 points, five rebounds and two blocks.

Daniel Johnson added 13 points and eight rebounds for the 36ers, and Todd Withers 13 points, seven boards and two huge blocks on Reath and White respectively. Cam Bairstow pulled in 13 rebounds with eight of those coming at the offensive end.

Dusty Hannahs finished with nine points for the 36ers, Kai Sotto six points, six rebounds and three assists, Mitch McCarron four points, seven boards and four assists, and then both Zac Gattorna and Nick Marshall scored their first NBL points in the dying stages.

Adelaide coach CJ Bruton was happy with the team's fightback but ultimately it took a great deal of energy just to get back into the game.

"It didn’t go as planned for sure, but I thought we came out with a little bit of ticker and the game started to get away from us for a minute there," Bruton said.

"We needed to respond and I thought they responded in the right way and I think tonight the Hawks were just better than us down the stretch."

It was a dominant start from the Hawks as they held the 36ers scoreless for more than two minutes to go up 6-0 with a three-point play from Sam Froling and three-point bomb from Tyler Harvey.

Eventually Adelaide scored courtesy of Cam Bairstow and then Sunday Dech drained a couple of threes as did Todd Withers, but the Hawks hit the last six points of the quarter to go into the quarter-time break leading 26-20 after a quick flurry from Isaac White.

While Bairstow scored first for Adelaide to open the second period it was then all Illawarra starting with Tim Coenraad fouled shooting a three. 

Justinian Jessup then took the game over knocking down an open three, finishing in transition after a steal, hitting a pair of free-throws, knocking down another triple and scoring again. 

He had 12 points in the matter of three minutes and the Hawks led by 17 as a result, and still by 13 by half-time after Dusty Hannahs, Withers and Daniel Johnson tried to will Adelaide back into it.

It was all Adelaide in the opening five minutes of the second half. The 36ers got rolling with three-pointers to Dech and Johnson, and when Dech connected again it was a five-point ball game.

Adelaide's charge continued with a Kai Sotto and-one play and then Johnson connected again from beyond the arc to tie scores up. Illawarra, though, managed the last five points through Xavier Rathan-Mayes to cling to a 62-57 advantage at three quarter-time.

Mitch McCarron brought the Sixers within three points again to start the fourth quarter, but that would be as close as they got. A couple of threes from White for Illawarra, then a run seven points from Harvey locked the game away.

Dech hit another three to give Adelaide a bit of life with three minutes to go, but the Hawks finished the game scoring 10 of the last 14 points to win by 16.

Both teams play again as part of Round 13 in the NBL with the 36ers returning home to play host to the Sydney Kings on Sunday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 13

ADELAIDE 36ERS 71 (Dech 18, Withers 13, Johnson 13) 

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 87 (Reath 18, Jessup 17, White 14)

BOX SCORE