Hawks get the crucial win over JackJumpers

The Tasmania JackJumpers showed plenty of their trademark grit and grind minus three crucial players but the Illawarra Hawks had too much size and firepower to heat up the race for sixth spot with the 101-91 road win.

The JackJumpers were back home at MyState Bank Arena but the walking wounded having now lost Will Magnay (toe) and Bryce Hamilton (knee) for the season with Majok Deng also sidelined with a concussion.

The Hawks arrived knowing that their hopes of finishing sixth had been boosted with the string of injuries to both Tasmania and the New Zealand Breakers, but they still were pushed all the way by the JackJumpers.

In the end, the pure size of the Hawks did pay off with coach Justin Tatum rotating between centres JaVale McGee and Sam Froling and they combined for 39 points and 11 rebounds on 17/21 shooting.

Tasmania kept on fighting and despite the Hawks leading by 15 points in the second quarter and 13 in the fourth, the JackJumpers were within seven in the last minute before Illawarra eventually sealed the deal.

It does set up a fascinating battle for sixth spot with the Hawks improving to 9-16 with eight games left and a largely healthy roster while the JackJumpers are in that spot now at 12-16 and fighting just to have enough fit bodies.

It was a Hawks performance much more akin to how they played winning a championship last season with the 101 points on 57 per cent shooting with 27 assists to just the 10 turnovers.

The big men tandem was outstanding with McGee finishing with 23 points, eight rebounds and two blocks while Froling produced 16 points and three boards.

QJ Peterson returned to the line-up for 19 points with 4/11 three-point shooting with six assists, five rebounds and two steals with 17 of his points coming in the first half.

Daniel Grida provided terrific energy too with 12 points on perfect 6/6 shooting with Illawarra +16 during his 18:38 of court time with Davo Hickey 15 points and six assists even while not feeling 100 per cent during the game.

The Hawks also got the important win without a big night from Tyler Harvey who finished with just six points on 3/10 shooting while missing all six of his three-point attempts.

Considering over the past seven days the JackJumpers have lost Magnay and Hamilton for the season, and they saw Deng suffer a scary fall to suffer his concussion on Thursday, it was a remarkable performance in so many ways for them to be so competitive.

Archie Woodhill stepped in for his first career start and had the task of battling McGee and Froling, and did his best to be +4 in his 16 minutes with two points and three rebounds.

Josh Bannan fought valiantly too for 26 points and eight rebounds in that front court while David Johnson stepped up for 21 points, eight boards, four assists and two steals.

The Hawks now head straight up to Brisbane to take on the Bullets on Australia Day Monday while the JackJumpers also are next in action in Queensland against the Cairns Taipans on Friday.

HUNGRY JACK'S NBL SEASON 2025/26 – PRIDE ROUND

TASMANIA JACKJUMPERS 91 (Bannan 26, Johnson 21, Drmic 13)

ILLAWARRA HAWKS 101 (McGee 23, Peterson 19, Froling 16)

BOX SCORE