NBL: Hawks upset minor premiers Melbourne United on the road

The Illawarra Hawks toppled NBL minor premiers Melbourne United with a 94-84 victory.

Nicholas Kay of the Hawks drives to the basket during his side’s win over Melbourne United at Hisense Arena. Picture: Getty Images

The Illawarra Hawks toppled NBL minor premiers Melbourne United with a 94-84 victory at Hisense Arena yesterday.

Coming off a dramatic upset win in New Zealand on Friday night, the shorthanded Hawks played without Rotnei Clarke and AJ Ogilvy but a produced a solid four-quarter effort to close the regular season with back-to-back wins on the road.

Forward Nick Kay dominated in the paint with 27 points and seven rebounds while Tim Coenraad (24 points) inspired the visitors with five three-pointers in the first quarter and Demitrius Conger added 20 points.

Tai Wesley and Josh Boone led Melbourne’s scoring with 14 points each while Chris Goulding added 13 points.

United import Casey Prather played 20 minutes in his second game back after a two-month absence due to a dislocated elbow and finished with six points and six rebounds.

Riding a seven-match winning streak, United looked comfortable in the first quarter as they built a 17-11 lead until the visitors caught fire from beyond the arc, with Coenraad nailing four three-pointers and Cody Ellis adding a triple to send the Hawks into the first break ahead 26-23.

Conger’s alley-oop dunk increased Illawarra’s lead to five points in the second term but United worked their way back, with Goulding hitting twice from long distance and assisting a David Barlow triple.

But Kay completed an 11-point quarter with a late lay-up to ensure the teams went to halftime level at 51.

Neither team could make a decisive break in the third quarter until Oscar Forman put Illawarra up by six in the final minute but two late scores to United cut the Hawks’ lead to 72-70. Illawarra surged to an 81-72 lead early in the fourth quarter, with Kay again doing the damage under the basket but Casper Ware and Barlow combined to reduce the lead to four points.

However, the visitors would not be denied, with three-pointers from Conger and Kay putting the match beyond United’s reach.

Meanwhile, Adelaide coach Joey Wright feels the 36ers are better placed entering the finals compared with 12 months ago when they bowed out in the semi-finals. With three straight wins under their belt, including Saturday’s 105-82 demolition of the bottom-placed Brisbane Bullets, it’s hard to argue.

“I feel like as a coach I’ve got three or four more tools in the toolbox,” Wright said. “Overall we feel more comfortable with our team.”

The second-placed Sixers will have home-court advantage in their best-of-three semi-final series but Wright knows nothing can be taken for granted.

Last season, Adelaide were regular season champions before being upset by the Illawarra Hawks 2-1 in the semis.

“The teams in finals aren’t going to just crack,” he said. “They’re in there for a reason.

“You can talk about home-court advantage but it’s going to be tough.”

The Sydney Kings fell well short of the finals but finished the season as one of the NBL’s hottest teams with yesterday’s 101-86 come-from-behind win over the New Zealand Breakers.

Sydney closed the regular season with wins in six of their final seven games to finish with an 11-17 record and avoid the wooden spoon.

AAP