Hawks draw first blood in Adrian Hurley Cup

By Matt McQuade

Result: Illawarra Hawks 92 Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings 84

Stats that matter: Kings 18 turnovers; Hawks 26 points off turnovers; Hawks 44 points in the paint; Kings 15 offensive rebounds

Kings MVP: Xavier Cooks had a double-double and played with great heart all night.

Turning Point: Illawarra’s Duop Reath stamped his authority on the game in the second quarter and turned the tide for the Hawks.

The game was over when: Justinian Jessup hit a jumper with 29 seconds left.

Trending in the right direction: Development player Jaylin Galloway didn’t score but played good defence during his minutes on the floor.

In a battle for the ages, an undermanned Brydens Lawyers Sydney Kings showed tremendous fight and character in falling 92-84 to the Illawarra Hawks on Saturday night at Qudos Bank Arena.

Game One of the Adrian Hurley Cup was an epic confrontation that takes its place as one of the best in the 103 games played between the two teams, a back-and-forth contest that in the end was decided by an experienced Hawks team that just stayed more composed down the stretch.

Already missing import point guard Jaylen Adams due to a sprained ankle he suffered in training through the week, RJ Hunter was a late withdrawal due to knee soreness, leaving the Kings light on for wing scoring options.

But to a man, the team stood up, going toe to toe with the Hawks all 40 minutes in a physical battle that ended with Angus Glover (16 points, seven rebounds) being ejected with 24 seconds left after a scuffle under the basket with Illawarra big man Sam Froling (nine points, 11 rebounds).

Gus got a standing ovation as he left the court, and it was well deserved for the Wollongong-born youngster. He had another outstanding game for the purple and gold, picking up the offensive slack and playing solid defence in the absence of Adams and Hunter.

In fact, there were a number of players who stepped up for Sydney on a night that again showcased this team’s excellent depth in a game they can take much from.

Injury replacement player Wani Swaka Lo Buluk (11 points, five rebounds) nailed some big threes and played stellar defence on Illawarra danger man Tyler Harvey (13 points, 5/17 FG).

Biwali Bayles (seven points, three assists) brought great energy at both ends of the floor.

And Shaun Bruce (12 points, five assists, three rebounds) was terrific in a second half where the Hawks made one big play after the other and looked at various stages that they were about to pull away. But the Kings constantly returned fire and never backed down.

“We’ve got a lot of confidence, man,” Xavier Cooks said afterwards.

“You live and you learn. We’ve got a bunch of young guys who are learning to play together.”

“It’s tough when you get seven new players in every year and try just to gel in the preseason.

“Battles like this help us grow. That was a great battle for us tonight. We got to see our toughness, down a couple of men. It would have been great to get that win, but we can learn a lot from this game.”

Indeed, one thing we’ve learned is that Xavier (14 points, 11 rebounds, five assists) is just about all the way back from the nasty foot injury he suffered prior to the beginning of NBL21. He was a force at both ends and his quickness and athleticism gave Illawarra fits.

Sydney led 25-24 at the end of the first as the 6,212 crowd roared its approval, with Bayles, Glover and Tom Vodanovich (nine points, three rebounds) giving the Kings an unexpected offensive punch early. Only three triples from Justinian Jessup (13 points) kept the visitors close.

But the second quarter belonged to Illawarra big man Duop Reath (27 points, seven rebounds). The Australian Olympian had eight points in the period to stake the Hawks to a 46-43 advantage at the main break and was a dominant force all night.

Illawarra extended the advantage to as much as seven points early in the third thanks to import swingman Antonius Cleveland (19 points, seven rebounds, four steals, two blocked shots), who had a quick five-point burst.

However, Sydney kept the pressure on, and a 9-2 run capped by a deuce from Jarell Martin (13 points, seven rebounds) gave the purple and gold an unlikely 58-57 lead and had the Sydney fans in the Hoops Capital dreaming of an against the odds victory.

But Harvey, Reath and Cleveland made plays down the stretch and the Hawks led 67-60 with ten minutes remaining.

Glover, Cooks and Martin got the Kings off to a good start in the final period, with an early 7-0 run pulling Sydney within a point. Again, the Hawks responded through Cleveland, who nailed a triple and had a spectacular move to the rack for the deuce, and things looked like they might be slipping away from the home team.

But this Sydney Kings group is made of sterner stuff. Bruce knocked down a triple to stem Illawarra’s momentum, and the game turned into a thriller.

Glover’s three made it a one-point game with just over two minutes remaining, blowing the roof off the Q, but Reath responded with a gut-check three of his own and with the Kings turning the ball over late on multiple possessions, the Hawks took advantage, with Froling and Jessup closing out the scoring.

In the final analysis, the Kings were undone by too many costly errors – they had 18 turnovers that were converted to 26 points by the Hawks – and they gave up key offensive rebounds down the stretch.

Still, for all that, there was plenty to admire on a night when a young, undermanned group could so easily have folded yet hung in there right to the bitter end. There’s a ton of heart in this squad.

Sydney shot the ball at 42.1% from the field, were 10 of 30 from three-point range and 14 of 22 from the foul line in a loss that takes them to 1-1 on the season.

The Kings have a massive Round Three in prospect, with no less than three games in a six-day period, starting with a road game against Melbourne United next Thursday night at John Cain Arena in Melbourne.

The following Saturday, Sydney returns to Qudos Bank Arena for a game against Chinese superstar Zhou Qi and the South East Melbourne Phoenix, and closes a busy week with another home game on Wednesday December 22 against the newest NBL franchise Tasmania JackJumpers. Tickets for both Sydney home games in Round Three are available via Ticketek.

#WeTheKings

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 92 (Reath 27, Cleveland 19, Harvey 13, Jessup 13)
BRYDENS LAWYERS SYDNEY KINGS 84 (Glover 16, Cooks 14, Martin 13) at Qudos Bank Arena

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