Snakes stun Hawks for second time

For the second time in three weeks the Cairns Taipans have stunned the NBL leading Illawarra Hawks with a performance full of heart to snap their home losing run with the 100-94 victory.

The Snakes had lost their last 10 at home and were up against the ladder leading Hawks at the Cairns Convention Centre without Taran Armstrong, but delivered a performance where they outworked their opponents more than anything.

The Taipans built a 22-point lead by the third quarter but then the Hawks were back level in the fourth after a run of five threes from Todd Blanchfield and Tyler Harvey, but the Snakes held firm to complete the six-point win.

The Snakes had been playing well to start 2025 but put in a poor showing to Adelaide on Sunday while the Hawks remained clear in top spot by beating Melbourne United and the Brisbane Bullets by a combined 56 points in Round 17.

However, the script was completely flipped with the Taipans continuing where they left off with a stunning upset on the road of the Hawks in Round 15.

It was all based on the Snakes playing with great intensity, hustle and effort too as they put up 31 points to be up 14 at quarter-time before continuing on with the job in the second period to be leading 54-37 at the half.

That was on the back of having 27 rebounds to 19, 13 assists to one and also forcing Illawarra into eight turnovers.

Illawarra were always going to make a charge and were back within seven at three quarter-time and it was level with 5:40 to play before the Taipans steadied to outscore the Hawks 18-12 from there.

It's the first home win for Cairns since October 4 against Tasmania as they finished with 19 offensive rebounds and took 34 free throws to 17.

Rob Edwards fouled out with two minutes to go but was terrific up to then with 22 points, four rebounds and three assists with fellow import Pedro Bradshaw having 17 points, eight boards and five assists.

Sam Waardenburg was tremendous with 18 points, six rebounds and three assists while Tanner Groves had 15 points, nine boards and three assists, Alex Higgins-Titsha 13 points and seven rebounds, and Kyle Adnam 10 points and two assists.

Taipans coach Adam Forde afterwards was especially happy to win for the home fans.

"They keep showing up and we could really feel the energy from the crowd but it was important to not get caught up on that and get burnt out," he said.

"It was great for the crowd to get involved, to cheer and to have something to go home feeling good about."

After having a record 37 assists against Brisbane on Monday, the Hawks had none in the first quarter, one for the second half and just 12 for the game.

Blanchfield did his best to shoot the Hawks to the win in his best game of the season with 5/9 shooting from deep for 17 points with Harvey also finishing with 17 points.

Trey Kell III was benched for most of the second half despite 13 points and three assists with Sam Froling also rarely seen after half-time with 10 points and six rebounds on 15 minutes.

Davo Hickey had 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists to be instrumental in the fightback.

Hawks coach Justin Tatum was frustrated afterwards as his team missed a chance to go two games clear on top.

"I guess it was our effort levels and we just didn’t match their intensity, and Cairns did a good job of just playing tough basketball that we didn’t match," he said.

"When the foul count 15-3 in the fourth or something like that, we did our best to dig it in but Cairns kept making big shots and plays so I tip my hat off to them."

Cairns did start well to lead 6-2 early but there was no real signs of what was to come the rest of the opening period until Tanner Groves hit a three and Alex Higgins-Titsha scored again for the 15-8 lead.

Higgins-Titsha then threw down a dunk over Davo Hickey, hit a three in the corner and that lifted the Snakes to the 26-10 lead, and it was still 31-17.

The Taipans continued to outwork the Hawks, outhustle them and just flat out outplay them even if they weren’t blowing them away with their shooting.

The Snakes added 23 points to 20 in the second quarter to go into the half-time break up 54-47 having led by as much as 21 and their lead was 22 early in the second half.

It was the Hawks bench group that had them back within seven at three quarter-time with Hyunjung Lee, Daniel Grida and Hickey leading the charge.

The starters were back to open the fourth and Illawarra was back within four with a triple from Tyler Harvey but Cairns answered with the next seven points to be back up 11.

The Hawks then scored the next six and Todd Blanchfield sparked them. Not too far from his hometown of Mackay, the 430-game veteran hit three triples in a couple of minutes to make it a one-point ball game.

Harvey then nailed another three to level scores up but the Taipans again pulled away with a 13-4 run only for the Hawks to answer with eight straight points including another three ball from Blanchfield.

That made it a one-point game again but the Snakes closed the deal at the foul line.

The Taipans have the super quick turnaround with the longest trip in the league to head west to play the Perth Wildcats on Saturday while the Hawks are next in action away to the Tasmania JackJumpers next Thursday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2024/25

CAIRNS TAIPANS 100 (Edwards 22, Waardenburg 18, Bradshaw 17)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 94 (Harvey 17, Blanchfield 17, Kell III 13)

BOX SCORE