The Cairns Taipans have arrested their five-game losing streak with an 89-78 win over the Wollongong Hawks at the Cairns Convention Centre on Friday night.
In a fantastic show of support, a crowd of almost four and a half thousand turned out to cheer on the home side all be it with some trepidation, haunted by the sides last home performance, a 37-point loss to Adelaide.
Hawks veteran Matt Campbell raised the nerves early when he hit three consecutive three-pointers in the opening minutes. With the assistance of Cameron Tragardh (six first-quarter points) the Hawks built an early seven-point lead 15-8.
Kerry Williams then entered the game for Cairns and brought the home crowd alive with his speed and energy and when Aaron Grabau hit a three-pointer six seconds before the quarter time buzzer the Taipans hit the lead 22-21.
The second quarter was something to behold for the home fans. Julien 'Skip' Mills got the ball rolling, matching Campbell's first quarter effort with three consecutive threes of his own and as Grabau and Rich Melzner added three-pointers themselves, the home side had an 11-point lead midway through the quarter.
Cairns went from strength to strength as its fast-paced game plan saw the lead grow with a steal from Dusty Rychart and a coast-to-coast drive from Phil Jones pushing the lead out to 16.
But the Hawks showed why they are the ladder leaders as Tragardh along with Glen Saville tried to get their team back in the contest and as half time approached they looked to be narrowing the deficit.
Mills (15 first-half points) however was determined to end the period on his terms and a three-pointer guided his side to a 14-point lead at half time and a standing ovation from the home crowd.
Cairns came out after the break and looked like a side not used to leading as it took them three minutes to get a second half score. Despite their nervous display the Taipans looked set to maintain their double-digit lead to the end of the term until Campbell and Saville combined to nail three-pointers late in the term to cut the gap back to eight points.
The Taipans continued to look shaky leaders as Saville cut the lead to just three points. But when Rychart (16 points, 13 rebounds) rejected David Gruber, a clear turning point had been set.
A time out was called and when Melzner and Jones put together outside shots upon the resumption, the lead was back to 10 with three minutes to play.
Tywain McKee (16 points, 8 rebounds) continued as he had all night to try and lift his side, but Cairns held firm and closed out a determined 89-78 victory.
The Hawks (6-3) will look to take a win from their North Queensland road trip when they travel to Townsville on Saturday night, while the Taipans (4-6) will look to build on their victory when they take on Townsville on Wednesday November 11 in Cairns.
Cairns Taipans 89 (Mills 21, Rychart 16, Melzner 15)
Wollongong Hawks 78 (McKee 18, Tragardh 14, Campbell 15)
@ Cairns Convention Centre, 6/11/2009. Crowd 4,324
