NBL22: Melbourne United beaten by Illawarra Hawks at John Cain Arena
It was a high quality clash between two genuine title contenders that had it all, including contentious unsportsmanlike fouls and a scary moment for a star import.
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It was a high quality clash between two genuine NBL title contenders that was punctuated by contentious unsportsmanlike fouls and a scary moment for a star import.
Two of the league’s most-gifted offensive teams fought out an enthralling contest on John Cain Arena — and it ended with Melbourne United’s hold on top spot eroded.
In a game of moments where no side could establish a clear advantage, the dynamic Hawks became the first team to beat United twice this season — a week apart — making off with a 96-90 victory at John Cain Arena.
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The JCA crowd held its collective breath late in the third quarter when United import Caleb Agada fell over the top of little Hawk Emmett Naar and landed hard.
A soaring Agada appeared to reach out to grab anything he could to stop himself from falling, but caught Naar on the head.
He stayed down, before limping from the court.
To add insult to injury, he was charged with an unsportsmanlike foul.
“Maybe he should have pulled the parachute out,” United’s veteran courtside announcer Wayne Peterson wondered.
It, coupled with an earlier unsportsmanlike foul, led to Agada’s ejection.
United coach Dean Vickerman felt “common sense” should have been applied to Agada’s second unsportsmanlike.
“I thought he got caught jumping in the air and needed to protect himself to be able to land,” Vickerman said.
“If that means to protect himself he needed to grab the guy below him, I just feel like there’s a common sense element to that one.
“Do you just let him fall on his head to avoid the unsportsmanlike?”
Agada said after the game he was “feeling good, just a little banged up”.
United is among the NBL’s best defensive teams but the Hawks — even without star guard Tyler Harvey, who failed a pre-game fitness test — are almost unstoppable when they get rolling.
They have weapons all over the floor in the athletically gifted Xavier Rathan-Mayes and Antonius Cleveland, and long Boomer Duop Reath. That trio powered Illawarra all night with 25, 22 and 18 points, respectively, as the Hawks continued their backs-to-the-wall play that has made them the first team to 16 wins — and now second on the ladder (on game difference).
It rained from deep for United in the first half.
Eight of the 11 players who took the floor for Melbourne hit at least one three, with captain Goulding drilling a pair as they made nine of their 17 first-half attempts.
But that, coupled with a nine-point first quarter from Jack White, wasn’t enough to put a meaningful gap on the desperate Hawks.
Vickerman said Rathan-Mayes beat the United scout and he would look at adjusting their tactics defensive tactics if they meet the Hawks in the finals.
“Did we stay with the coverage that we said we were going to live with too long with Rathan-Mayes?” Vickerman said.
“You’ve got to live with something sometimes and he made tough contested twos at a really high percentage.
“Maybe we’ve got to change the scout and go a different way, because he was too good for it.
“He was tough and Cleveland, both of those two are playing at a really elite level right now.”
In the third, Illawarra jumped out to a seven-point lead as United disengaged for a moment, turning the ball over and committing silly fouls.
But it was only a moment, and, spurred after Agada’s scary moment, United turned the deficit into a four-point lead at the final break — it would have been seven, were it not for Rathan-Mayes buzzer-beating three.
A Goulding trey with five minutes to go in the game put United up six and might have been the killer blow against a weaker team.
But the Hawks refused to go away and their pressure forced United into errors. Rathan-Mayes’ bucket with 1.53 left in the game squared it away at 88 and then he put them ahead with another mid-range jumpshot — United had dared him to make them and he’d feasted on it all night.
White tied it back up at 90 on a Shea Ili assist, but his overexuberance — after a Duop Reath airball landed in Harry Froling’s lap — led to an and-1 that put the Hawks up three with 26.1 to go. White walked away with his head in his hands — it was a blemish on an otherwise fine game from the United sparkplug, who paced his team with 17 points.
White said he was caught out by Reath’s airball.
“Man, I just couldn’t believe it didn’t hit the rim,” White said after the game.
“From where I was standing, it looked like it was going to hit it and I felt like I had pretty good position to get it off and had Harry on the baseline side.
“But it just flew right into his lap and that’s just how the game goes.
HUGE PLAY FROM HARRY 😤
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“I’ve got to be better in that situation, not allowing him to have an impact on that play.
“This loss hurt for us, we wanted to come in and make a point, especially after last week, defend our home floor, so we’re disappointed we just didn’t get the job done.”
Jo Lual-Acuil Jr missed a layup and United committed a foul, but defensive dynamo Ili got a sneaky hand in and won the ball back for United. Lual-Acuil Jr found himself open from deep, but his try was too heavy and Justinian Jessup iced it for the Hawks at the free throw line.
Vickerman was largely happy with how his team attacked the game, but disappointed with its inability to execute down the stretch.
Matthew Dellavedova only played 18 minutes, Vickerman revealing the Boomer had battled gastro all week and was still dealing with a sore ankle.
After back-to-back losses, United now gears up again Monday for a tough trip to Perth, before the last regular-season Throwdown against cross-town rival South East Melbourne, while the Hawks have a week to ponder before a visit to Brisbane next Saturday.
HAWKS’ MAYES DAY WITH HARVEY OUT
Rathan-Mayes is an impressive hooper. The 27-year-old is a sneaky athlete, but might have the best body control in the league. He can stop on a dime and contorts himself on the move to pick through seams in the defence few others would be able to negotiate. It’s a luxury for the Hawks that, with Harvey injured, they can call on the Canadian combo guard to power the offence. It’s hard to understand why his mate Cleveland isn’t in the NBA — he looks a cut above, both athletically and defensively.
WELCOME BACK BABA
There was plenty of excitement inside John Cain Arena for the return of United’s championship-winning guard and he didn’t disappoint. He checked in to a raucous applause and immediately showed off his improved stroke with his first shot an all-net three. He then used his speed to get to the rim and find Shea Ili for a trey as the buzzer on the first quarter sounded. He only score five points in 18 minutes, but he will be better for the run.
SCOREBOARD
Crowd: 4517
Melbourne United 96-90 Illawarra Hawks
United
White: 17 points
Goulding: 16 points
Lual-Acuil Jr: 15 points
Hawks
Rathan-Mayes: 25 points
Cleveland: 22 points
Reath: 18 points
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Originally published as NBL22: Melbourne United beaten by Illawarra Hawks at John Cain Arena
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