NBL 2014/15 Round 3: Ruthless Sixers blow away Ervin, Hawks
Adelaide has stormed to a 94-73 NBL win over Wollongong on the back of a barnstorming third quarter run that saw the Hawks held scoreless for nearly seven minutes.
With their advantage sitting at just three points at halftime, the home side rattled off 20 straight points to kick off the second half to blow the contest wide open and see off their opponents.
Adelaide didn’t have it all their own way, however, with Wollongong superstar Gary Ervin taking his former club to the cleaner’s early on, netting 15 points in a blistering first term to give his side a 31-29 lead.
The wild opening ten minutes started slowly, with big men Luke Nevill (8 points, 3-3 FG) and Luke Schenscher (6 points, 3-3 FG) providing the early offense at other end as the shooters struggled.
That didn’t last long, with Ervin turning it on for the Hawks and Peter Crawford (7 points, 3-3 FG) doing it for the Sixers, while BJ Anthony (9 points) was active on the glass as he also hit the scoreboard for the home side.
The second term saw Ervin up to 20 points in a matter of minutes as the Hawks extended their lead before five quick points from Adam Gibson (18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists) handed the momentum back with the home side.
A deep Brad Hill three-point bomb as the shot clock expired seemed to give the Hawks back the lead, however it was waved away on a contentious off-the-ball foul called on Nevill and the Sixers pushed the lead out to six as the Wollongong offence dried up completely.
Another huge Hawks three, this time from Tim Coenraad, counted at the half time buzzer and kept the Hawks within striking distance, trailing 44-47 at the main break.
However Wollongong was put to the sword by a ruthless home side after the break, with Adelaide scoring 20 unanswered points over the first six and a half minutes and eventually holding a 21-point lead at the three-quarter time break.
Adelaide star Jamar Wilson (14 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists) left the court early in the final term clutching his hamstring and suddenly the momentum shifted once more, with Wollongong cutting the margin to just ten with over six minutes to play.
That was as close as they would get, with a pair of three-pointers from Brendan Teys and a monster block from Daequon Montreal putting the exclamation points on a big night for Adelaide.
Gibson and Schenscher (14 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 7-9 FG) were the best for the Sixers, while Ervin played a long hand for the visitors with 26 points, 4 boards and 4 assists.
Electrifying Hawks import Jahii Carson had a night to forget, finishing with just four points on 1-of-7 shooting.
Adelaide 94 (Gibson 18, Anthony 15, Schenscher 14)
Wollongong 73 (Ervin 26, Nevill 12, Hill 8)