Double Overtime Heartbreak Against Competition Favourites

For the second time inside five days, the NBL has produced a double-overtime cracker but unfortunately, the Sky Sport Breakers fell agonisingly short 97-96 against competition favourites Illawarra at the WIN Entertainment Centre.

Not only was it the second time in five days that we had a game going to two overtime periods, but it was also the second time in five days where the Breakers raced out to a huge first-quarter lead chasing their opening win of #NBL22.

Yanni Wetzell had 13 points, four rebounds, and two steals on his own in the first quarter with the Breakers leading by as much as 15, but they had coughed up a 19-point lead in Adelaide on Sunday.

The Hawks fought back on their home floor attempting to stay undefeated but it took an extra 10 minutes to separate the teams.

It was a Will McDowell-White dunk to close regulation that forced overtime before a nice move from Wetzell forced it to a second extra five minutes.

The stage was set for a big finish and New Zealand's 20-year-old French import Hugo Besson hit from way downtown with 16 seconds left of the second overtime to put his team on top.

However, it was Tyler Harvey who won the game for the Hawks with two seconds left with a trademark floater to keep his team undefeated and New Zealand winless.

Harvey hit two massive threes after starting 1/9 on his way to 26 points and eight rebounds on top of some crucial defensive plays. 

Justinian Jessup added 21 points, five rebounds and four assists, Duop Reath 19 points and 12 rebounds, Antonius Cleveland 12 points and nine boards, and Xavier Rathan-Mayes 11 points.

Wetzell was a dominant presence for New Zealand with 25 points and 16 rebounds while Hugo Besson put up 20 points and eight boards, Will McDowell-White 17 points, eight boards, and four assists, Jeremiah Martin 14 points, and Finn Delany 10 points, eight rebounds, and five assists.

Captain Tom Abercrombie returned for his first game of the season but hurt an ankle after eight points in his 16 minutes.

It was slow going early with just a field goal each in the opening three minutes, but then the Breakers got rolling similarly to how they did last Sunday in Adelaide.

This time it was big man Yanni Wetzell catching fire with 13 points in the quarter including a monster throwdown over Harry Froling. At one point the Breakers went on a 17-2 run and led 27-14 by quarter-time.

The Hawks had to respond and started the second term in remarkable fashion. It began with a three-point play to Antonius Cleveland followed by a three-ball from Justinian Jessup on the way to a 12-0 run.

Another triple from Jessup and then bucket from Cleveland saw Illawarra take the lead, but unlike Sunday in Adelaide when New Zealand never got back once they surrendered the advantage, they still managed to lead 41-39 by half-time.

Back-to-back triples from Tyler Harvey and Jessup saw Illawarra threaten to break the game open midway through the third quarter, but again the Breakers responded with Besson going on an individual 8-0 run.

New Zealand would lead 60-57 by three-quarter-time but the Hawks put on a scintillating start to the fourth term with the opening nine points capped off by a triple from Duop Reath.

Just when the Hawks looked set to cruise to the win, Jeremiah Martin turned it on for New Zealand with eight quick points to tie scores up with three minutes remaining.

Illawarra pulled away to a four-point lead again but McDowell-White drained a three to keep New Zealand in touch. Wetzell then put them in front rolling to the hoop but Harvey answered with a three to put the Hawks up two.

McDowell-White delivered a nice move to cruise to a dunk to level up scores again. The Hawks had one last chance but Jessup's jumper wouldn’t fall and we went to overtime.

Illawarra again threatened to run away with it in the first overtime, but a steadying three from Finn Delany and then a nice move inside from Wetzell kept New Zealand tied, and then Harvey missed a potential winning three on the buzzer.

Besson appeared he was the hero for New Zealand when he nailed a massive three from the Kmart logo with 16 seconds left in the second overtime to give the Breakers the one-point edge. 

But Harvey responded with a floater up the other end and the Hawks held on when Besson lost possession with two seconds left on the last play.

Both teams back up again in Round 3 of the NBL on Sunday with the Hawks playing the Bullets in Brisbane while the Breakers head to Melbourne to face United.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL ROUND 3

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 97 (Harvey 26, Jessup 21, Reath 19)

NEW ZEALAND BREAKERS 96 (Wetzell 25, Besson 20, McDowell-White 17)

BOX SCORE