Cairns have narrowly prevented a harmful upset loss to the bottom-placed Illawarra Hawks after a tense 89-84 victory that retains the far north Queensland franchise within the field seat for an automated playoff spot.
The Taipans had been challenged all the best way because the upstart Hawks threatened to snap a nine-game shedding streak at Cairns Convention Centre on Friday evening to place the house aspect’s probabilities of a top-two end in critical jeopardy.
After being outscored by 14 factors within the opening 5 minutes of the sport, the guests produced a surprising turnaround to hit the entrance by the top of the primary quarter and repeatedly answered each Taipans problem to carry a two-point benefit with lower than two minutes to play.
But Cairns made a pair of significant defensive stops and saved their cool on the free-throw line to safe their fifth win on the trot and preserve their maintain on second spot with a 15-7 document.
Tahjere McCall (24 factors, 11 rebounds and 4 steals) stepped up for the Snakes within the closing levels with a clutch basket to stage scores at 82-82 then secured a match-sealing steal from a Hawks defensive rebound to disclaim Illawarra a chance to tie the sport with a three-pointer within the dying seconds.
“His capability of being able to play through (foul trouble) and most games we would have said yeah, let it ride but with the game on such a knife’s edge balance I knew I needed him more to close it out rather than maintain the momentum that was happening in the third (quarter). He closed it up brilliantly for us,” Taipans coach Adam Forde mentioned about McCall, who sat out very important minutes within the third quarter with 4 fouls.
Cairns regarded decided to make the competition a lopsided affair by racing out to an 18-4 lead however a spirited fightback from Illawarra noticed the rank outsiders take a 24-23 lead by the top of the primary interval.
DJ Hogg supplied the Taipans with some separation at halftime with a pair of late baskets as the house aspect took a 45-40 edge into the primary break. And after giving up 32 factors within the paint by way of the primary half, the Taipans’ inside defence lifted within the third stanza to halt Illawarra’s dominance underneath the rim.
But Mangok Mathiang disrupted a sequence of attacking strikes from Cairns together with his shot-blocking capability to maintain Illawarra within the hunt heading into the ultimate quarter.
Tyler Harvey’s 25-point haul and a career-best 16 factors from Will Hickey put the Hawks on the point of an unlikely upset earlier than in the end falling brief to drop to 2-20 for the season.
