Hawks turn brutal road trip into lifeline

Saturday’s overtime loss brought an end to one of the Illawarra Hawks’ most brutal stretches of the Hungry Jack’s NBL27 Season.

After losing to Brisbane in Wollongong in Round 6, the Hawks sat last with a 2-8 record and a looming five-game road trip.

But instead of dropping their heads and following the season’s script, Justin Tatum’s team used it as a mechanism to galvanise the group and get their campaign back on track.

This stretch included wins in Perth, Cairns and South East Melbourne, and tight losses in Adelaide and back in Perth.

“We’re not out, season’s not over,” Tatum said following Saturday’s overtime loss to the Wildcats.

“We’re healthy, and we’ve got a game on Thursday.

“[The] guys have done their best being on this road for 12, 13 days. I’m sure they’re excited to get back to their families.

“I’m proud of my group, and extremely looking forward to going home.”

In Saturday’s loss, the Hawks led 92-87 after Tyler Harvey’s triple with 47 seconds remaining.

Perth then rattled off five quick points to send the Round 9 fixture into overtime.

Perth won 111-100, leaving the Hawks 5-10. Makur Maker (21 points, 9 rebounds) and Kelan Martin (19 points, 6 rebounds) led Illawarra, while Davo Hickey (10 points, 10 assists) and Sam Froling (10 points, 12 rebounds) posted double-doubles.

After the game, Tatum explained his team would learn from their defeat.

“[We’ve] just got to find ways to play through the horn; the horn wasn’t off yet in regulation,” he added.

“Any loss is heartbreaking, [so we will go] back to the drawing board.

“[Our guys] did their best, played hard, but we just got to win the one-percenters.

“[Overall], our guys [have] found a good rhythm [on this trip]; we just got to get some stops.”

Tatum’s Hawks host the 36ers on Thursday night from 7.30pm AEDT, live on ESPN.