Tyler Harvey has ensured Illawarra remain on top of the NBL table by bouncing back from a dramatic loss to beat the South East Melbourne 88-82. In the absence of his back court partner Trey Kell III, Harvey was brilliant for the Hawks on Saturday with 22 points on 6-of-8 three-point shooting as they overcame a 10-point second-quarter deficit to win by six and maintain top spot. Illawarra went down to Melbourne United at home in emotional fashion on Thursday night with coach Justin Tatum unleashing his full fury in the post-match press conference.
They then arrived at John Cain Arena without point guard Kell (back) and coming up against a rejuvenated Phoenix line-up under interim coach Sam Mackinnon. After losing their first five games under Mike Kelly, the Phoenix were back home having won two straight with Mackinnon as coach, as he took charge for the last time ahead of American Josh King assuming the responsibilities. South East Melbourne started impressively too and were leading by as much as 10 points thanks to a three ball from Nathan Sobey (14 points) four minutes into the second quarter.
Tatum called a timeout and his team responded with the next 14 points, and then maintained that edge throughout the majority of the second half. The Phoenix kept on coming, but Illawarra had an answer every time to improve to a 6-2 record to maintain top position. On top of what Harvey did for the Hawks, Darius Days was a strong running mate with 16 points and seven rebounds on 5-of-7 .