45-points & 11-boards off the bench from John Philip has led the Illawarra IMB Seahawks to great 114-106 (Boxscore) win over the first placed Bankstown Bruins.

The visitors used a 39-17 second quarter to open up a 65 to 42 lead at the half from which they were never headed.

Illawarra is starting to see rewards for the new defensive intensity that is starting to become a culture with this team.

From a coaching point of view Matt Flinn was “over-the-moon” after Seahawks put together two consistent efforts against two capable teams.

The guards again lead the way at the defensive end, providing constant effort within the transition defence system that produced regular stops.

Illawarra has now shown they can stop teams from scoring, and have gained confidence at the offensive end.

Flinn stated “the pressure has been lifted to a certain extent and our players are playing with a little more confidence”.

Pope’s 45 points included a scorching 6/7 from outside, and 13/15 from the stripe, completely getting the better of his opposite Clint Reed who had 40 when the sides met at The Snakepit earlier in the season.

Hawk Daniel Jackson had 19 points 6 boards, as well as providing great ‘D’ on Clint Reed.

Dom Cooks (24 points, 4 assists) was relentless with his defensive pressure. Cooks was also on the receiving end with the ball, getting fouled 14 times and earning 15 attempts form the charity stripe.

Fellow guards Luke Higgins and Cameron Fincher continue to the little things that don't show up on stats, endlessly dogging the opposition throughout.

For Bankstown, Daniel Sepokas had 24 points, the athletic Terry Admir hauled in 20 boards to go with 12 points and 5 blocks.

Clint Reed managed 19 points but had 7 turnovers

Next Game:

Illawarra (5-4) host Central Coast (5-3) on Sat at 4pm.

The Crusaders boast former Hawk Terry Johnson and former NBL player Tim Hudson who blitzed the Bears in the last game for 40-points - including 10 threes.