Hawks guard Ethan Rusbatch drives past Jets and ex-Hawks forward Darryl Jones in Palmerston North last night. Photo/Photosport
Hawks guard Ethan Rusbatch drives past Jets and ex-Hawks forward Darryl Jones in Palmerston North last night. Photo/Photosport
Sometimes a result is so painfully obvious in just the first quarter of a basketball game that it becomes pointless trying to drive home any other messages.
That pretty much sums up the Taylor Corporation Hawks' comfortable 89-74 victory over Go Media Manawatu Jets in Palmerston North tonight.
"We got off to a good start, we executed and played well as a team and the result was probably never in doubt from the end of the first quarter," was the verdict of Hawks coach Zico Coronel after the visitors posted an emphatic first deposit of 27-10 in the first 15 minutes of the round two Sal's National Basketball League encounter at Ballroom Arena Manawatu.
Coronel labelled the second spell, 47-28 (20-18), as "sloppy" from the Jarrod Kenny-skippered Hawks but lauded his young charges for coming on to maintain the lead into the final two quarters — 65-45 (18-17) and 89-74 (24-29).
Gold Coast Commonwealth Games bronze medal-winning Tall Black Ethan Rusbatch claimed a team-high 16 points while fellow Hawks newbie Mitchell Newton scored 15 and Hyrum Harris contributed 12 to the collective cause.
For the hosts, point guard Daishon Knight had a game-high 22 points, Kuran Iverson scored 18 and Brandon Lucas added 14.
That the Jets struggled from the field was a testimony to the Hawks' defence, forcing the hosts to chance their arm from outside the arc with dismal returns of six from 30 (20 per cent).
The Hawks' depth was reflected in their bench which mustered 52 points compared with the Jets' 13 but Coronel was mindful of inflation creeping into the match so he injected 11 of his 12 players in the first quarter.
"I guess for the best part of the back-to-back [presence] no one played over 21 minutes, I believe, so I believe everyone's well rested," he said.
The Hawks travel to New Plymouth where they'll tip off against the Augusta Taranaki Mountainairs at 7pm tomorrow in their first double header on the road.
They are expecting a sterner test from the Airs who are playing their first game at home this season after a 95-69 opening win over the Jets last Sunday.
US import forward Javonte Douglas claimed the first player of the round with a double-double 28 points and 20 rebounds.
"[We] wanted to get better in some key areas to preserve our legs so that we're ready for another hard challenge tomorrow. There's no point in trying to win the game by a bigger margin and then losing tomorrow because you've wasted all your energy."
The Hawks, he said, weren't preoccupied with "style points" but doing what's appropriate for the season.
Manawatu Jets player Brandon Lucas goes for a basket as Hawks' Mitchell Newton (left), Jamie Skeen and Hyrum Harris close in to disrupt him in Palmerston . Photo/Photosport
However, Coronel tonight injected his third import, American Jamie Skeen, who sunk a three-pointer on his first touch.
Skeen, who went to college at Virginia Commonwealth University, played only 12:20 minutes, scoring nine points.
Coronel said they swooped on him after his team in Finland had been eliminated in the playoffs.
"He's played in the top league in Israel, where Corey Webster's playing, and he was very productive in the league in Italy," he said of Skeen who has trained with the Charlotte Hornets.
"He's a very honest bloke, very humble and almost like a Kiwi so he fits in really well and a very clever basketball player," he said, revealing the import had pointed out something pretty subtle to Mitchell Newton during training this morning.
