Mitsubishi Match Recap: Hungry Jack’s NBL26 - Round 10, Game 1 v Illawarra Hawks

Melbourne United have opened Round 10 with a hard-fought victory on the road against the Illawarra Hawks.

In an opening term played at a breakneck pace, United got strong contributions from the entire lineup.

Jesse Edwards came up with the opening points of the game before Milton Doyle showcased his scoring ability.

The star American tallied 11 points to go along with two assists, a steal and a block in his eight minutes of action.

Also finding success inside the arc were Tyson Walker and Finn Delany, who each got into the paint for layups through contact.

From the perimeter, Melbourne’s shooters made the most of their attempts, with Chris Goulding, Tanner Krebs and Fabijan Krslovic all connecting from deep.

This allowed United to push in front and take a 38-33 lead into the break.

It was a much slower start to the second quarter for the visitors, going scoreless for close to four minutes.

Dash Daniels broke that scoreless run, which opened the floodgates for Goulding’s sharpshooting.

The marksman orchestrated a personal 10-3 run, cashing three three-pointers, one of which came through contact, to propel Melbourne back into the lead.

He added an acrobatic finish in the paint, bringing his scoring total up to 18 points for the half, before feeding Edwards for a thunderous dunk which put United up 58-52 at half time.

Despite the time spent off the court during the major break, Goulding stayed hot, getting inside for a silky-smooth floater to start the third.

Edwards and Walker followed suit, getting to the rack for important buckets, before Krslovic produced some terrific energy plays.

At one end, he corralled an offensive rebound and fed Kyle Bowen for a triple, and at the other rose up to emphatically swat a shot out of bounds.

The Hawks were able to hit back, pushing in front prior to threes from Krebs and Doyle, which tied the matchup back up.

The latter was able to then give Melbourne back the lead, sinking three free-throws in the final seconds to set the score at 86-83 with 10 minutes remaining.

While the game had been a free-flowing scoring affair for much of the contest, things slowed down in the fourth.

Delany and Krslovic each bullied their way inside, opening up opportunities from Krebs, who connected on a pair of timely triples.

Things looked promising for United following a Delany and-one bucket and Goulding’s elite effort to block a three-point attempt, however a final push from the home side saw Illawarra take the lead with 29 seconds remaining.

Needing to execute, Delany, as he had the entire final term, stepped up, knocking down a three from the corner to put Melbourne ahead 104-102.

Elite defence on the Hawks next possession gave the ball back to Edwards with the opportunity to ice the game at the free-throw line.

The big-man made one of two, and when Illawarra’s game-winning attempt was deemed too late, United ended the game on top 105-102.

This gives United 12 wins on the season leading into the team’s final game before the FIBA Window break against the Perth Wildcats at home inside John Cain Arena on Sunday from 4:30pm.

Tickets are available here.