JackJumpers’ title defence in tatters as Hawks roll on

Tasmania’s NBL title defence is over after they suffered a crushing 102-78 loss to the ladder-leading Illawarra Hawks in Hobart.

The injury-hit JackJumpers entered Thursday night’s match at MyState Bank Arena knowing they needed to win their final three games to have any hope of reaching the play-in tournament.

But the Hawks led from start to finish in a dominant display, with Sam Froling scoring 16 of his 18 points in the first half to set up the win.

Tyler Harvey (15 points), Mason Peatling (12 points), William Hickey (12 points), Todd Blanchfield (12 points) and Trey Kell (10 points) all reached double figures in an even team performance from Illawarra.

The result improved the Hawks’ record to 18-9, putting them within touching distance of finishing in top spot for the first time in the club’s history.

Illawarra finish their season with games against the Breakers and Kings.

The JackJumpers (12-15) enjoyed an eight-match winning streak during the middle part of the season, but have lost seven of their past eight games to slip out of the finals mix.

Milton Doyle (17 points) led the way for Tasmania, with Jordon Crawford (16) and Clint Steindl (13) the only other JackJumpers players to reach double figures.

“They’re really good. I hope they get into the grand final and I hope JT (Hawks coach Justin Tatum) gets coach of the year,” JackJumpers coach Scott Roth said.

“We’re obviously not playing very well just in general, but it is what it is at this point.

“We’ve just got to keep battling and keep our heads up.

“You have the highs and lows in sport, and this is a low. But it’s also a great character builder for our organisation.”

The JackJumpers were ice-cold from the perimeter in the opening quarter, missing all eight of their attempts from long range on the way to a 21-13 deficit at the break.

Doyle caught fire with three triples in the second term on the way to 15 for the half.

But 12 points to Froling for the term and nine from Blanchfield ensured the visitors entered the half-time break with a dominant 52-34 advantage.

It was more of the same in the second half as the Hawks were able to answer every challenge Tasmania threw at them.

Steindl scored eight quick points to start the third quarter, and Tasmania were finally able to quell Froling’s influence as the margin was reduced to 12 points.

But the Hawks were able to pull away again, with big triples to Harvey and Kell early in the last quarter killing off the contest.

Hawks coach Justin Tatum was happy with the way his team bounced back from last week’s shock loss to last-placed Cairns.

“I’m pretty happy with it. Our effort level was high, through the roof. Our attention to detail was great,” Tatum said.

“I still have some things to complain about, but our team got better this week.

“We were determined to play better today.”