The Breakers have snapped their five game NBL losing streak, beating the Illawarra Hawks 91-79 last night at Spark Arena.
The much-anticipated match up between top NBA prospects RJ Hampton and Lamelo Ball didn’t quite eventuate into the game-defining feature. Hampton scored 14 points and Ball was only one assist of a second straight triple-double, but it was fellow import Sek Henry that did the damage for the home side.
He scored 25 points including a crucial 11 as the Hawks mounted am ultimately fruitless comeback. The 32-year-old Californian also three assists and a memorable steal off Ball in the fourth quarter that he transitioned into a dunk, sending the packed house into a frenzy.
Tall Black forward Finn Delany was another main contributor, scoring 20 and grabbing nine rebounds.
The Breakers led 28-19 after the first quarter and 50-38 at halftime, which pointed to a heavy win, but the Hawks had other ideas in the fourth quarter. They cut the lead to two at one stage, before Henry’s heroics took the game away from them.
Despite the team’s poor form, the turnout of 8474 for the game can only be described as stunning. Spark Arena was at maximum volume from start to finish, and management will be hoping that the momentum gained from this win will translate to another big crowd when the team plays Brisbane back there on Monday 8 December.
Between then and now, there is also a fixture away against Cairns. The result moves the Breakers off the bottom of the NBL ladder.