BACK TO BACK WINS OVER GIANTS

IMS Payroll Hawks won their eleventh game of the season, holding off the Fico Finance Giants 86-79.

 

Kareem Johnson had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Everard Bartlett scored 16 and dished out seven assists, and forward Dustin Scott added a double-double of 13 points and 13 rebounds.

 

The Giants have now dropped their second game in a row, and lost four of five to drop to eight wins and six losses.

 

Jamal Boykin had another strong game of 25 points and eleven rebounds, Josh Bloxham had 15, and Phill Jones added 12.

 

It was going to be a difficult task for Nelson to win at Pettigrew Green Arena, where the Hawks are unbeaten this season with six wins. But the visitors got off to a relatively good start, leading by as many as nine in the first half.

 

This season the Hawks have been dominant in the third quarter, and it was much the same for the home-side, outscoring Nelson 26-12, pushing their lead to as many as 10.

 

Nelson would close the gap to two with five minutes left to go, but the Hawks would not surrender their lead, moving their record to 11-2.

 

The Hawks did a fantastic job of containing Josh Pace, who was held to nine points, making it the first time he has failed to reach double-digits points this season.

 

With five games remaining, the Hawks could beat their previous best franchise regular season of 14-4, which they achieved in 2006, the year they won their lone NBL Championship.

 

Nelson are still in the top four, but with the other teams closing in they will need to take care of business at home where they will play the remainder of their regular season games.

IMS Payroll Hawks 86 (Kareem Johnson 18, Everard Bartlett 16, Dustin Scott 13)

Fico Finance Giants 79 (Jamal Boykin 25, Josh Bloxham 15, Phill Jones 12)

1Q: 20-20

HT: 35-41 (15-21)

3Q: 61-53 (26-12)

FT: 86-79 (25-26)