HAWKS sharpshooter Tyler Harvey shot the lights out at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Monday - but venue staff were probably relieved they stayed on. These days, it's certainly not a given.
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After playing 16 of 17 games on the road, a 96-72 win over Brisbane proved a triumphant homecoming for the Hawks, but the venue didn't exactly cover itself in glory.
After enduring some well-publicised shooting woes in recent weeks, Harvey went off with 28 points at 8-10 from three-point range before leaving the floor with injury (back spasms) seven minutes into the third quarter.
It was the star turn in a game that Illawarra led the bulk of the clash, at one point by as much as 27 points, in a vital win that keeps them nestled in the top four.
It saw the fans ultimately go home happy, but the night was marred by yet another embarrassing incident that highlights the urgent need for an upgrade to the 21-year-old venue.
In incredible scenes directly preceding the clash, the ring at one end of the court collapsed to the floor, delaying the start of the game by close to 40 minutes as staff worked to see the issue corrected.
It was far from ideal, but Hawks coach Brian Goorjian said it was just another curveball his team has had thrown at them this season.
"I called the guys in before we went out on the court and just repeated what I have all year, this is just not a normal year," Goorjian said.
"It just ties in with what's gone on over the last three months. The team that can handle all this adversity, the unusual travel, not knowing who you're going to play. It's not the league's fault, it's COVID.
"We're dealing with something here and we've talked about it all year and I was really pleased with the way the guys were focused.
"If the game had have started half an hour later we would've still been right. If it went dark, we'd have waited for the lights to come on. We just really wanted to play and needed this one, we were desperate."
The ring issues is just the latest hiccup for a venue becoming infamous for such incidents. A game between the Hawks and Breakers last season was abandoned mid-stream after the roof leaked in heavy rain and couldn't be rectified in time for the game to continue.
Another Hawks game against Adelaide in 2019 was halted due to a shot-clock malfunction that saw a half-hour mid-game delay and almost an entire quarter played out without a shot-clock in operation.
Monday's incident is further illustration that the state-government-owned venue is in drastic need of an upgrade two decades after it opened.
Earlier this year Member for Wollongong Paul Scully said time was running out for the state government to upgrade the dilapidated venue before the city hosts the UCI Road World Championships of cycling in 2022.
"Wollongong likely risks another incident where the WEC causes another embarrassment - this time while millions of eyes worldwide are focused on the city," Scully told Australian Community Media in February.
It made the Hawks victory, after a long arduous period on the road, all the more remarkable given the disruptions in the lead-up, including the possibility of the game being canned altogether.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk announced earlier on Monday that Brisbane would enter a snap lockdown in response to four locally acquired cases of coronavirus, putting the game in Wollongong in jeopardy.
The match went ahead but the NBL was forced to adjust it's schedule, with the Hawks now hosting South East Melbourne on Thursday instead of arch-rivals Sydney.
Harvey's injury is a headache for Goorjian but, with four of his side's next seven games to come at home, there was plenty to like about the performance.
He can only hope the venue his team has pined for for the best part of three months doesn't let them down in future.
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