Basketball: Saville finds touch to defeat Breakers

10.20am

SYDNEY - Australian international Glen Saville was always going to rediscover his accuracy, but his timing could not have been worse for the New Zealand Breakers who were overwhelmed 109-83 by Wollongong in their Australian National Basketball League (ANBL) clash last night.

"Players of that calibre are not going to stay down for too long, they're going to pick their moment to step it up and keep it happening.

"He had a good night," Breakers coach Frank Arsego lamented after witnessing a dominant Hawks' performance at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

Saville erased his recent shooting nightmares with a top drawer performance.

The forward had gone off the boil lately, culminating in a dismal night last week against the Hunter Pirates where he managed just two points.

That glitch was forgotten as he finished with 22.

He hit Wollongong's first five points and his 23 per cent shooting over the last four games was replaced with a healthy 50 per cent.

Saville menaced the Breakers throughout the first quarter, opening the game's scoring with a three-pointer from the wing.

He was responsible for seven of their first 11, and finished with 13 for the quarter.

The Hawks, who extended their unbeaten home record to five games, led 60-50 at halftime, though Arsego had not given up hope.

"We did a good job in the first half but unfortunately in the third term we missed quite a few free throws and that opened the door for them.

"They opened up a good margin and that was it."

The Breakers hinted at a revival straight after halftime, quickly reducing the lead to just six, but Matthew Campbell swiftly buried them beneath a scoring avalanche.

Three huge three-pointers from Campbell saw Wollongong go from a six-point lead to a 20-point lead in the space of just four minutes, effectively locking the game away for the home team, who had a commanding 89-72 lead with a quarter to play.

Arsego was concerned he had to rely on his bench to keep the Breakers in the hunt.

"It was disappointing that we got more production off the bench than the starters."

Ben Thompson was the Breaker's stand out, notching with a team-high 15 points.

"Ben was one of the few guys who made the most of his opportunities," Arsego said.

"Shawn (Redhage) had a very good first half but couldn't keep it going in the second."

The Breakers (3-5) dropped to eighth and face a crunch home game against ninth-placed Brisbane on Saturday to stay in the play-off zone.

Arsego was remaining positive despite a 3-3 record in Auckland.

"We know at the end of the day we're not chasing 30 points every week," he said.

"We're getting off to some good starts. We're putting ourselves into position to move on."

The Hawks' victory consolidated second spot on the NBL ladder and enhanced their reputation as the Breakers bogey team, having won all five encounters that the two teams have played.

- NZPA