The previous night’s result was the Big Barrel Hawks’ sixth consecutive NBL loss to the Rams since their home and away wins in 2022, a sequence that included a Canterbury player’s hand-of-god, last-seconds poke through the hoop that denied the chance of a place in the 2023 final.
The Hawks won a pre-season Westside Blitz match between the two franchises in Westport in March, and four of the starting five in that win were on the team again on Saturday, when new import Brandon Alston was rushed straight into action, taking just 32 seconds to get on to the scoresheet.
He finished with 10 points in 27m 22s on court, but the Hawks’ top scorers were Dan Grida, with a game-high 26, and Jackson Ball, whose 25 points included five three-pointers, three of them within 2m 42s in the last quarter for his side to lead 90-88 with 5m 13s to go, the last time the travellers hit the lead.
Six Rams hit double figures, their sheet topped by Walter Brown and Taylor Britt, each with 22.
It was an impressive fight from the Hawks, leading 27-26 at the end of the first quarter, tied 54-54 at halftime and coming back from a nine-point deficit with two and a half minutes to go in the third, which ended with the Rams looking to shut the game out leading 84-76.
Yet the Hawks still grabbed the lead twice in the countdown and were down just 95-94 with 1m 32s remaining, before fouls effectively decided the game, the Rams claiming three doubles from the freethrow line in the last 56 seconds.
Jacob Murphy kept it respectable with a three-pointer three seconds before the final buzzer.
The Hawks start their regular-season run of five matches at home against the Rams at Rodney Green Arenas, Taradale, on Saturday.
The Hawks won the Rapid League curtain-raiser 46-38 against Canterbury but dropped Monday’s game 42-20 against the Giants.
Doug Laing is a senior reporter based in Napier with Hawke’s Bay Today, and has 52 years of journalism experience, 42 of them in Hawke’s Bay, in news gathering, including breaking news, sports, local events, issues, and personalities.
