Wells proud of second-half response in Ignite Cup win

Adelaide 36ers Head Coach Mike Wells has praised his side’s defensive resolve in the second half of Wednesday night's Ignite Cup win over Illawarra, saying he was pleased with the response after half time.

The Hawks led by five points at the main break with Wells challenging his group to be better defensively.

At that point Hawks import QJ Peterson was on a heater, hitting 16 first-half points, and the Sixers appeared sloppy in possession at times.

But the response came in spades in the second half. The Sixers won the third period by 12 points and outscored the Hawks 53-36 in the half to win 97-85 at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre and move to 10-3 for the season.

“That we came out the second half with the right purpose, the right focus, and that started on the defensive end, and then that flows into the offence, I was super, super proud of the way we played the second half.

“I took a time out late in the second and I wasn't happy with our pick and roll defence. We had another breakdown that shouldn't happen and I thought I challenged them a little bit at halftime, if you guys want to win this game, it's going to be on the defensive end.

“It started on the defensive end. We got deflections, we got into them. I thought that was maybe our best defensive half of the year.”

Wells admitted defence was an area he was keen to focus on when the group had more time to train together during the FIBA break next week.

“(The second half) gives me where we want to go and how you want this thing to look, is we can guard different ways,” he explained.

“We've got a bunch of combinations, and I was super, super excited about that end of the court…

“There's light at the end of the tunnel and it's not a train. Like we will get it down, we've got a lot of defensive unique lineups - you know, we can play big, we can play small, we can go with double bigs.”

There was concern for star Bryce Cotton who appeared distressed at times but still finished with a game-high 31 points and 13 assists to go with three rebounds and two steals.

Wells said his prized recruit had been struggling with nausea but was determined to play on.

“He must have been really sick guys,” Wells smiled after the game. “You know what I mean? 36 minutes, zero turnovers, 13 assists, and 31 points, so he was really feeling sick.

“It was not a big issue, just a little upset stomach, whatever, not feeling great.

“He kept looking at me, and I'm looking at him, and he's like ‘I'm good’, so he kept playing.”

The build up to the game was pitted as a battle of the NBL MVP contenders with Cotton guiding the Sixers and former NBA big man JaVale McGee the Hawks.

Cotton finished the first period scoreless and gave up a costly foul with one second to play, sending McGee to the line for three free throws and giving the Hawks a one-point quarter time lead as well as the first of the Ignite Cup point on offer for the night.

But within a minute of the second period starting, Cotton was on the scoreboard with a trademark three pointer.

He added two more in quick succession to race to 13 points but with the Sixers sloppy in possession and Hawk QJ Peterson going 4/5 from beyond the arc and leading the scorers with 16 points, the visitors added another Ignite Cup point with a five point advantage at the main break.

Cotton and Isaac Humphries instigated a momentum shift in the third period and the Sixers tightened up defensively, restricting the Hawks to just 15 points for the quarter and adding 27 themselves to take back the lead by seven points heading into the final quarter.

Humphries was a presence all night, hitting 22 points and pulling down nine rebounds as well as frustrating McGee at both ends.

Wells said he was proud of Humphries’ performance, not just on Wednesday night but throughout the season so far.

“What he does for us on both ends of the court is just invaluable,” Wells said. \

“When he doesn't have the ball, he's got big guards driving at him and, you know, it's just a huge piece.

“We're all the beneficiary of what Isaac Humphries does. I mean, he's our anchor. He just is.

“It may be a thankless job, but not with me, it's not. I don't think it is with Bryce, but it's just an unbelievable job, what he's done this entire year. I couldn't be more proud.”

While the build-up to the game featured commentary about the Sixers being unable to close out games in the last quarter, they remained tight defensively and outscored the Hawks 26-21, allowing Wells the luxury of taking off some key personnel late.

Even with Nick Rakosevic being ejected for going onto the court prior to a substitution, the Sixers finished strongly to claim their first Ignite Cup points for the year and make it three straight wins with one game to come before the FIBA break.

The 36ers won’t have long to rest with a trip to Melbourne next up to face SEM Phoenix on Saturday night.