Hawks arrived at Brentwood Mavericks yet to win a game this season and unfortunately there luck didn’t change once the game was over. The Hawks arrived at the late tip off to a broken hoop on the mens court which saw the game played on a much smaller under 18’s court with almost no run off behind the baskets. Hawks started the game well and found themselves in the lead early in the first quarter opening with a 7-1 run, with scores from Cohen, Haddow and Niaz opening the game. The game then levelled out after some defensive errors from the Hawks and the first quarter ended 18-15 to Brentwood.
The second quarter was where the gap opened and the Hawks were ultimately never able to close. After three consecutive 3 pointers from a Mavericks forward the game was well and truly stretched. The Hawks defensive effort continued to be missing here and the early effort that had stopped a lot of the early Maverick onslaughts seemed to have disappeared. Scores from Evans, Norkeliunas and Marsden kept the team in the game however it wasn’t enough. The second quarter ended 44-33.
The second half continued the same pattern as the first. Defensive errors and turnovers see the Hawks effectively beat themselves. Scores from Morris and Jones kept the game in touch and an increase in defensive pressure see the game stay in touch. The third ended with the Hawks down 13 to the score of 64-51. You could see the size of the court had affected players attitudes to the game many pulling out of lay ups and dishing the ball for outside shots due to how close the end line was to a brick wall.
The final quarter was the best of the game for the Hawks. They opened strong with scores from Marsden, Haddow and Niaz getting the team off to a strong start. The defensive end picked up with Haddow and White plugging the middle and stopping a lot of the Mavericks drives to the basket. With Jones stopping a lot of players on the wing. The combined effort on offence and defence saw the score get to within 5 with 3 minutes left. However the Hawks seemed to fall back to the third quarter with so little to go and turnovers crept in with the Hawks not capitalising on some easy chances. The game finished 79-71 to the Mavericks.
