Hawks Soar Over Bullets

The Bullets had another disappointing loss to the Hawks, with the visiting side coming out on top 90-82.

There were some flashes of brilliance from the Bullets especially in the first quarter where the home side took full advantage of a few days rest and came out the blocks flying.

Nathan Sobey opened the scoring with a quick transition basket, followed by Vic Law attacking hard and getting to the line.

Harry Froling was really active on the offensive and defensive glass, with six of his 11 rebounds in the opening quarter, allowing his teammates to get out and run.

The Bullets defensive intensity stifled the Hawks in the opening quarter, keeping them to 13 points and holding a 10-point lead heading into the first break. Another key to this early lead was great ball movement, led by Jason Cadee who finished with a career high 9 assists.

However, it was a tale of two quarters in the first half. The Hawks came out with more energy in the second quarter. Hawks import Tyler Harvey got going early, knocking down 17 of his 31 points in the second to help his team bring the scores back to level at the half.

The game was in the balance in the third, but it was the Hawks who took a three point lead into three quarter time.

The game stayed tight early in the fourth. There were some solid possessions from Tyrrell Harrison off the bench and Sobey continued to trouble the Hawks defence on his way to 24 points.

The Bullets applied full court pressure and a steal from Orlando Johnson, followed by a Sobey dunk swung the momentum in the Bullets favour. But it was just for a moment as the two teams went score for score throughout the final quarter.

Hawks back court duo Emmett Naar and Tyler Harvey made some tough plays for the Hawks down the stretch. The Bullets were forced to foul in the final minute to try and gain vital possession, but the Hawks were able to knock down their free throws to come out eight point victors.

Coach Andrej Lemanis reflected on the game saying he “thought there was a lot to like from tonight’s game but with limited rotations it’s tough to sustain that level of intensity.”

“At the end of the day it’s about getting better, improving and getting healthy.”

The Bullets will need to do just that when they take on the Sydney Kings at Nissan Arena on Tuesday 26^th January.

Brisbane Bullets: 82 (Nathan Sobey 24pts, Victor Law 16pts 11 reb, Orlando Johnson 11pts)

Illawarra Hawks: 90 (Tyler Harvey 31pts, AJ Ogilvy 14 pts)