Triple threat star as 36ers down Hawks

An inspired Adelaide 36ers were led by a trio of stars in the club’s 93-79 win against Illawarra Hawks at the Entertainment Centre on Sunday afternoon.

In front of a fifth straight sellout crowd of 9423 at Defence Force Appreciation Round, captain DJ Vasiljevic and import pair Montrezl Harrell and Kendric Davis starred in the 14-point success.

Harrell scored a game-high 25 points to go with seven rebounds and three assists, while Davis had a brilliant double-double of 16 points and 10 assists to go with seven rebounds and Vasiljevic had a big first half to end with 23 points, six rebounds and four assists.

READ MORE

• MATCH PREVIEW: Team effort key against Hawks
• COACHES CORNER: Wells looks for response against Hawks
• DJ says 36ers ready for Hawks battle
• TEAM SCOUT: 36ers look to shut down high-scoring Hawks

Adelaide missed their opening four shots as the Hawks scored the game’s first 10 points before Harrell found the basket inside.

The Hawks swished their first four three-pointers to open an early 16-4 lead before Adelaide got to the free throw line through Davis, Harrell and Jason Cadee as the 36ers cut the margin to 20-13.

Vasiljevic scored five straight points, Harrell continued to make an impact and when Jarell Martin (seven points, six rebounds) swished a three-pointer, Adelaide had the lead 24-22.

Davis got back to the free throw line as the 36ers scored 22 of the last 28 points of the quarter to take a 26-22 lead into the first break.

Adelaide found their groove to start the second quarter, consecutive three-pointers from Vasiljevic then Davis pulled up in transition for another triple to increase the lead to 39-28.

The Hawks responded, going on a 9-2 run before Davis found Nick Marshall for a three-pointer for a 44-37 lead.

Vasiljevic, who had 15 points in the first half, went coast-to-coast, Davis kept on scoring and when Jarell Martin (seven points, six rebounds) made an athletic tip-in on the buzzer, Adelaide took a 50-41 lead into the main break.

Sunday Dech (nine points, five rebounds) opened the third quarter with a three-pointer, then Vasiljevic added another triple as the 36ers lead grew to 56-45.

Isaac Humphries (eight points, five rebounds went to work inside, scoring on consecutive trips, before a Marshall steal led to a Davis layup, then Harrell brought the crowd to their feet with a huge slam as the 36ers extended the lead to 67-53.

The Hawks responded straight away with back-to-back three-pointers, then Harrell scored seven straight points as Adelaide took a 76-67 lead into the final 10 minutes.

Illawarra scored the first three baskets of the final quarter, going on a 9-0 run to cut the 36ers; lead to 76-73.

Dech swished back-to-back three-pointers, then Harrell threw down a big dunk to get the lead back out to 84-75.

Vasiljevic scored a tough attack to the hoop before Harrell sealed the deal with two alley-oop dunks as the 36ers moved to 6-4 for the season.

Adelaide are back on court next Sunday when the 36ers travel to John Cain Arena to battle Melbourne United from 2pm ACDT.

ADELAIDE 36ERS 93 (Harrell 25, Vasiljevic 23, Davis 16) def ILLAWARRA HAWKS 79 (Kell 18, Froling 16, Harvey 11) at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre.
Crowd: 9423
BOX SCORE