The Illawarra Hawks raced out to a scorching start and held off a spirited second half fightback from the New Zealand Breakers to earn a thrilling 108-100 victory at home on Saturday night. The result sees the Hawks maintain their position atop the NBL ladder at 15-7, while the Breakers slip to 8-14 and remain outside the play-in picture.
Hawks Set Early Pace
Led by the red-hot shooting of Trey Kell, who poured in 24 of his game-high 31 points in the first half, the Hawks threatened to rewrite the NBL record books as they stormed to a 69-45 halftime lead – a new 40-minute club record.
We found ways to win and lose games all types of ways this season. The one way we haven’t was trying to dominate for 40 minutes, and we tried our best to do that tonight.
– Hawks coach Justin Tatum
With the all-time NBL high score of 130 points within reach, the Hawks had designs on a truly historic night. But to the Breakers’ credit, they regrouped after the break and made key defensive adjustments to slow the onslaught.
Breakers Battle Back
Sparked by Sam Mennenga’s 24 points and the all-around brilliance of guard Matthew Mooney (33 points, 8 assists), New Zealand chipped away at the margin and briefly threatened an improbable comeback. A flurry of late Mooney triples added some respectability to the final score line.
- Darius Days backed up Kell with 22 points and 6 rebounds for the Hawks
- Tyler Harvey added 19 points on efficient 5-of-8 shooting
The Breakers were ultimately undone by a lack of effort in key areas, especially in a listless first half showing. They gathered just 4 offensive rebounds to the Hawks’ 20, while also committing 18 turnovers to 9.
First half, we didn’t show up; no energy, no effort. Second-chance points and turnovers… half their points came from there. We didn’t do our job on those tonight, but second half much better effort.
– Breakers coach Petteri Koponen
Looking Ahead
Both teams will be back on the hardwood Monday in a pivotal double-header. The Breakers take on Melbourne United in New Plymouth, while the Hawks head to Adelaide to face the 36ers.
With just over a month remaining in the regular season, the Hawks are well-positioned to secure home court advantage throughout the playoffs. The Breakers have more work to do to book a post-season berth, sitting 3 games adrift of the play-in cutoff.
| Team | Record | Games Back |
| Illawarra Hawks | 15-7 | – |
| New Zealand Breakers | 8-14 | 7 |
As the NBL season enters its final stretch, every game takes on added significance. The Hawks and Breakers will both be aiming to carry momentum from this clash into a pivotal upcoming slate of fixtures that could make or break their campaigns.
