BOXSCORE


The Cairns Taipans dealt the Wollongong Hawks another dose of bad luck on Friday the 13th, escaping with a thrilling 61-59 victory at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

Andrew Warren drained a go-ahead triple with just over a minute to play and Cairns held on when Rhys Martin's corner three sailed long on the buzzer.

The Hawks mounted a late surge behind Oscar Forman and Tyson Demos, who combined for three long-bombs on a night where both teams saw big leads dissolve in the second half.

Warren continually made timely baskets on his way to 17 points and Brad Hill added 12 points as the Snakes won their third straight.

''I felt the guys weren't very aggressive (in the first half), they didn't play with very much intent,'' Cairns coach Aaron Fearne said.

''I think they looked at each other like who is going to make the play, instead of just making a play and if you're going to make it, mean it.''

''In the second-half we got 'up and in' a little bit more defensively and offensively we just played a lot more aggressively, made plays and momentum swung our way.''

Forman finished with 19 points and Martin had seven of his 16 points in the final quarter as the Hawks suffered their seventh straight loss.

''Things are extremely tough, obviously everyone is working so hard to try and get that win and give our fans something to cheer about,'' Hawks coach Gordie McLeod said.

''It's always an easy thing to say; we've got to work harder, I don't know if we can work much harder because they're working hard now.''

''We just have to keep grinding away and try and get that consistency and play well over four quarters.''

Glen Saville notched his 7000th career point early in the second-quarter with a vintage step-back jumper from the elbow.

Cairns grabbed six offensive boards in the opening quarter, but were forced to settle for a slim 14-12 edge after they failed to capitalise on gaining eight more shot attempts than the Hawks.

Wollongong used a 14-2 surge in the second to build a robust 12-point buffer (31-19), highlighted by a slick alley-oop from Saville to Forman.

A jumper by Warren eventually snapped the run, but with points hard to come by in the closing three minutes of the half the Hawks were able to secure a 33-21 advantage.

Five quick points from Martin helped push the buffer out to 15 in the third, but Hill sparked a remarkable 19-0 run with a pair of crafty buckets inside.

Warren capped the surge with a pair of three-pointers as Cairns streaked ahead by four points, eventually up 46-41 heading into the fourth.

When all seemed lost for the Hawks late in the game Demos and Forman struck with their treble of triples, but Martin couldn’t complete the fairytale finish as the buzzer sounded.

Cairns Taipans 61 (Warren 17, Hill 12, Crosswhite 10, Wilson 10)
Wollongong Hawks 59 (Forman 19, Martin 16)

Crowd: 2713 at WIN Entertainment Centre, Wollongong