After an inspiring win on the road on Sunday and 18 weeks of regular season Basketball, the Ringwood Hawks finally have a clear understanding of the road they must take if they are to navigate themselves in to another Grand Final series.

The Hawks travelled to Waverley on Sunday in a game where the winners would take home the added bonus of top spot and home court advantage during the play-offs. And early in the game, it looked like the Hawks were simply not switched on. Waverley did as they liked as the Hawks defensive effort was well below par.

In an effort to change the flow of the game, the Hawks Coaches changed up the offense and defense and slowly but surely Ringwood worked their way back in to the contest. Falcons import Desmond Simmons was on fire but the Hawks moved Mike McCahey (31 points and 12 rebounds) on the athletic American and by half time it was only a 6 point deficit that the Hawks faced.

The defensive changes were working to perfection in the third quarter and the Falcons struggled to find an east scoring opportunity. Shaun Clarke (18 points and 7 rebounds) and Matt Fennell (16 points and 6 rebounds) picked up the load offensively and incredibly by three quarter time it was Ringwood who had a 3 point lead. Waverley were held to just 11 points in the quarter.

Ringwood simply refused to let go of the lead in the final 10 minutes. The Falcons threated to get back in to the game but Jacob Gibson (13 points) and Matt Snowball (7 points and 8 assists) had all the answers when needed.

“That was the best defensive three quarters we have played this year.” Hawks Coach Ken Harrington said.

“We were able to hold them to just 26 in the last half, against a dangerous team that is encouraging.”

The win leaves the Hawks as the number one seed in the play offs that start next Saturday night. The Hawks will have a bye in the first round and await the winner of an elimination final between Casey and Eltham. According to Harrington, both teams will provide the Hawks with a massive test.

“Those two teams are very talented, it doesn’t matter who we end up playing.”

“At this time of year we must play our best but at least we will have home court advantage in the best of 3 series.”

The Hawks will enjoy a week off next weekend but will still be training and preparing. The team will be attending game one of Victorian Youth Championship Women’s Grand Final and supporting the Young Lady Hawks who have won their way in to the big dance with a 48-42 win over Dandenong. Click here to watch a replay of that game.

RINGWOOD HAWKS 88 (McCahey 31, Clarke 18, Fennell 16, Gibson 13, Snowball 7, Truman 2, Latham 1) defeated WAVERLEY FALCONS 75 (Simmons 25) at the Waverley Basketball Centre.