The Southern Huskies finished what was an up and down season in the 2019 Sal's NBL with a 112-70 victory over the Taylor Hawks at home.
Three-point shooting was the focal point of the opening quarter, with both teams showing their ability to stroke the ball from deep.
Everard Bartlett was the designated skipper for the eight Hawks who travelled to Tasmania and led from the front for the already playoff-bound side.
The guard handled the bulk of his side's playmaking and kept his team in touch for the majority of the first. For the Huskies, young start Harry Frolling established himself as a presence down low and worked well in tandem with fellow big man Jalen Billups.
Frolling finished the quarter with nine points and six boards, all while leading his team to a narrow 25-24 buffer at the end of one.
Only seven players travelled to play the Huskies for the Hawks and this began to show early in the second quarter. The hosts started the quarter with a 14-1 run and led in double-digits for the majority of the period.
Tiri Masudna, Mason Bragg and Craig Moller all made their opposites pay with three-pointers, opening up the paint for their big men.
A lack of scoring options for the Hawks saw them waste a number of different opportunities to keep themselves within striking distance. Combine this with Huskies rapid scoring and the scoreboard unsurprisingly favoured the hosts, 61-40.
Not much changed during the second half, as the Huskies laid on the pressure to push the two scores further and further apart. Frolling and Billups continued to dominate down low, with the Hawks having no answer for the big bodies inside.
The insertion of Jordan Vandenberg left the helpless visitors with second of rest and Moller, Jones and Bragg kept the points coming to the delight of the Huskies faithful. The hosts would enter the fourth up 84-60.
Crazy dunks and lackluster defence brought the 2019 regular season to a close for both teams, with the Huskies signing off in style for what was a year full of many learning for them.
Meanwhile, the Hawks young core will have to lick be licking their wounds on their way back home and will have to shake off the negativity from tonight to help prepare their usual starters for the Final 4.
Southern Huskies 112 defeated Hawke's Bay Hawks 70
Huskies - Marcel Jones 21pts & 13rbs, Harry Frolling 20pts & 12rbs, Jalen Billups 22 & 9.
Hawks - Nick Fee 16 pts, Darryl Jones 14pts & 13rbs, Everard Bartlett 12pts & 5ast.
Stats That Matter - The Huskies tandem of Jalen Billups and Harry Frolling was a handful for the Hawks all night, with the added damage of Jordan Vandenberg off the pine. Close to 60% of the Huskies points came from inside the arc and a whopping 76 coming from within the paint. The Hawks only managed 22 points in that same area.
TAB MVP Votes - Jalen Billups (Huslies) 8, Marcel Jones (Huskies) 7, Tiri Masunda (Huskies) 5, Harry Froling (Huskies) 4, Darryl Jones (Hawks) 3, Nick Fee (Hawks) 2, Everard Bartlett (Hawks) 1.
