A SEASON-BEST performance from import guard Jordon Crawford was one of the biggest positives in the Tasmania JackJumpers‘ huge win over the Illawarra Hawks to kick-start Round 3 of the NBL.

The two sides clashed down at MyState Bank Arena on Thursday night, with Tasmania entering the match as favourites, having emerged as the form side of the competition after Round 2. Although the JackJumpers had the form and home court advantage, the Hawks were coming off an impressive win of their own. Illawarra had bested the Phoenix last round, finally getting its offence on the right track, and had enough tools to get the job done against here with an upset win.

The game panned out in less-than-ideal fashion from an Illawarra perspective, with the visitors only really in the match in the first quarter. Tasmania shot the lights out from the second quarter onwards, completely controlling the tempo of the match and essentially dominating the final three terms. It was one of the most emphatic team performances of the season, cruising home to a 30-point win and storming to the top of the standings.

There were plenty of strong performances from the winning side, but perhaps the most encouraging was the outing of Crawford, who delivered his best showing in a Tasmania jersey.

Tasmania JackJumpers (103) def. Illawarra Hawks (73)

Jordon Crawford – 17 points, one rebound, six assists, one steal

Crawford had threatened to hurt the opposition on the scoreboard in the opening weeks, and while the shots were not falling at a consistent rate, the danger was still there.

The 168cm guard put it all together against a lacklustre Hawks defence, making the most of the space the opposition gave him on nearly every possession and proving one of the best players in a big win for the JackJumpers.

He was one of Tasmania’s leading scorers with 17 points on the night, trailing only teammate Milton Doyle on this front. Crawford nailed six of his 10 shots from the field in an accurate scoring performance, producing baskets from a number of methods.

Whether it was speeding past the opposition with serious pace, stopping on a dime to knock down a mid-range, or draining a three-point attempt from behind the arc, Crawford did as he pleased against Illawarra in an eye-catching scoring performance.

Another impressive facet of his game was the guard’s playmaking. Crawford uses his pace and ability to break down the defence off the dribble, which in turn opened up his teammates in the halfcourt. A big highlight came when he sped past his immediate defender and made it to the hoop. Instead of attempting the contested layup, he kicked the ball out to Jack McVeigh, who knocked down the three-pointer.

Crawford was a standout performer on an excellent night for the JackJumpers, producing his strongest performance in the NBL, and one that he will be hoping to build on.