DESPITE a fierce second half comeback, Tasmania JackJumpers fell short of defeating an impressive Illawarra Hawks outfit in Wollongong, with the home side finishing two points head on the final buzzer, 92-90.

Illawarra Hawks (92) def. Tasmania JackJumpers (90)

It was a tale of two halves as the underdog Hawks kicked away early and held the ascendancy throughout the first half. Illawarra lead 23-18 at quarter time, and were up by 11 heading into the main break, which well and truly had an upset on the cards. The JackJumpers roared to life in the second half to trim the deficit back to eight points, and kept coming right until the end.

It was a fitting final few moments that had every one of the 5359 people at WIN Entertainment Centre on the edge of their set. A successful free throw from Todd Blanchfield with three seconds on the clock made it a two-point game before a block from William Hickey denied David Johnson‘s long-range jumper. Fans watched as Tasmania’s American import Bryce Hamilton grabbed the offensive board and made the layup to tie the game.

The only problem was, it was deemed the time had expired before he released the ball, therefore handing the Hawks a crucial two-point win. Still three victories behind the JackJumpers who occupy the last of the Play-In spots, it does give Illawarra a glimmer of hope in the run home across the last two months of the 2025/26 NBL season.

JaVale McGee was phenomenal in the win for the Hawks, swatting away shots left, right and centre with six blocks, while also finishing wiht 16 points, six rebounds and two assists. Sam Froling‘s second game back from a serious Achilles injury was outstanding as the big man collected 10 boards – including seven offensive ones – as well as put up 16 points and dish off four assists.

Another injury returnee was guard Tyler Harvey (15 points – four of nine from long-range – two rebounds and an assist) who came off the bench to make an impact across 25 minutes. One player who has been holding the fort in Harvey and Froling’s absence – QJ Peterson – notched up 13 points, five rebounds and five assists against the JackJumpers.

Tasmania’s best was Josh Bannan who nailed 25 points at 78.6 per cent from the field, while pulling in six rebounds, and finishing with two assists and a steal. Johnson (16 points, five rebounds, three steals and two assists) and Hamilton (10 points, two assists) also hit double-digit points, as did the in-form Majok Deng (11 points, two rebounds, two assists).

The JackJumpers take to the court again on Saturday back at home when they welcome Melbourne United, while Illawarra right before at the WIN Entertainment Centre, clashing with the Cairns Taipans.