Hawks Win in Perth to Set Up Dramatic Weekend

The Illawarra Hawks survived a late charge by Bryce Cotton to snare their 18th of the season, 82-77 over the Perth Wildcats. The loss for the Wildcats means their 36th successive playoff appearance is now in jeopardy. 
 
Brian Goorjian strolled the RAC Arena sidelines looking exactly like someone who had been there 799 times before in the NBL and in his 800th game, the six-time championship winning coach oversaw his team clinching a top three finish, and remaining a chance to finish second.

The Hawks are guaranteed to now play the Sydney Kings in the first round of the playoffs, with Sunday's game in Sydney to determine who has home court advantage.

While at the same time, Friday night's win for the Hawks meant that the Wildcats could still miss a 36th consecutive finals appearance unless they win at home to the South East Melbourne Phoenix themselves on Sunday.

Goorjian couldn’t hide the pride he felt in his team's performance but because of the respect he holds for Perth it made it mean that much more.

"This team’s proud and there was a lot at stake for both teams, but hugely for them. And we took their best shot and it's a huge win for us," Goorjian said. 

"I'm proud of my guys, but respectful of this whole thing. [It was] one of those games… I’ve been in this a long time and there are those ones you remember and this was really something to be excited about as an organisation and the team. 

And you get that from playing against quality. That’s only how that happens and that’s how you feel right now, and it’s because it is Perth."

Wildcats coach Scott Morrison was proud of his team's fight now with focus turning to Sunday.

"I was really proud of the guys' effort. I thought that was the hardest we've played in a long time and we left it all on the court, that's all we can ask of them," Morrison said. 

"We had a couple of shots to tie the game playing against a great team and it was a nerve-racking for those of us on the sidelines part of the team, but I'm guessing it was probably a fun game to watch. It's all about South East now."

The challenge was always ahead of the Wildcats to handle the pressure of trying to keep the streak alive and doing so without superstar forward Vic Law who won't be back again this season thanks to an ankle injury.

The Wildcats still have three-time MVP Bryce Cotton, though, and he had nine points in the opening six and a half minutes, coming off the back of a trio of three-pointers. 

It helped the Wildcats to go to quarter-time break on 5/8 shooting from beyond the arc, ensuring a fast start for Perth. However, the Hawks were just as game, hitting four of their first seven threes, with Hawks sharp-shooter Tyler Harvey (22 points, five rebounds) leading the way. 

The Hawks also suffered an early blow with two fouls to perhaps their most important two-way player Antonius Cleveland and it meant Goorjian turned to his bench with the Hawks having seven different scorers barely a minute into the second quarter. 

Boomers bronze medallist Duop Reath (19 points, eight rebounds) was particularly damaging for the Hawks, making his first five field goals, including two threes. 

In the absence of Law, Perth’s Majok Majok shouldered an extra load. Averaging fewer than five points a game, Majok had 10 points in the first half, on his way to 16 for the game along with eight rebounds. 

Harvey continued to be a thorn in Perth’s side and the frustrations mounted up for Scott Morrison, who was warned and then issued a technical on successive plays in the third-quarter. It sent the Hawks to the free-throw line and helped the visitors begin to gain serious momentum. 

Soon after Harvey hit his fifth three, the Hawks opened up a double-figure lead (63-52). But credit to Perth, they fought back thanks to contributions like that of Michael Frazier, who had 11 points. It was a five-point game (67-62) at three quarter-time in favour of Illawarra. 

Cotton (a game-high 25 points) continued to fight and when he made an acrobatic floater with just over seven minutes to go it was a one-point (70-69) game in favour of the Hawks. 

Cleveland, whose feistiness failed to dim despite his foul trouble, managed a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds), but his luck ran out when he recorded his fifth foul with four minutes to go. 

Veteran play kept Perth at bay and it helped that Goorjian was 2/2 on clever coaches’ challenges. The Wildcats left opportunities begging late. Cotton missed three shots in the last 90 seconds, including a wide-open three that would have tied the game. 

However, Cotton deserves precisely zero of the blame, having played the final three quarters without once being benched. Goorjian could breathe a sigh of relief as the Hawks prevailed 82-77 after a thrilling finish.

What the result does is sets up a dramatic final weekend to close the regular season. The Hawks battle for second spot in Sydney against the Kings while the Wildcats could need to win against the Phoenix on Sunday to keep their playoff streak alive.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 21

PERTH WILDCATS 77 (Cotton 25, Majok 16, Frazier 11)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 82 (Harvey 22, Reath 19, Rathan-Mayes 12) 

BOX SCORE