Geraldton men’s basketball GF: Hawks win thriller to end drought as Robert Griechen drops 40 points

Robert Griechen wasn’t even alive to see the last time Hawks topped Geraldton amateur basketball, but on Friday night he made sure he was front and centre to their drought-breaking triumph. His 40 points led the Hawks to an enthralling 79-75 win in a titanic encounter with Olympians to end their championship curse. Both sides were relying on Buccs talent with Johny Narkle and Liam Bennett leading the way for Olympians while Griechen and Ryan Blanchett were running hot for Hawks. The teams traded baskets in a high-scoring affair with Blanchett grabbing 10 points in the first quarter while Narke reached 11. Richard Bartlett, who returned for Olympians’ finals series after not playing since round nine, also chipped in while Griechen had seven for Hawks. Griechen then scored 12 points in five minutes pushing the lead to eight but the Olympians’ bench was proving stronger than the Hawks’ to close the gap down to two at the half. Both Narkle and Griechen broke the 20-point barrier in the half. Olympians got the jump in the third as Bennett and Narkle swung the game to give their side an eight-point advantage. Griechen then went on another burst producing 11 points in three minutes. Free throws had the game dead even with eight minutes to go but by this point, Narkle had not scored in more than 10 minutes. A Levi Owen three started off a Hawks mini-run but Bennett hit back with two massive threes to get the game back on level terms with the clock down to three minutes. Narkle finally hit the scoreboard again from the line to give Olympians a one-point lead but it would be the final point he would score all night. Griechen got to 40 points with another bucket while Blanchett got the lead out to three. Bennett hit back but Fletcher Klasztorny showed nerves of steel to drain two free throws and with time running out their defence held firm to seal a thrilling four-point win. Narkle had just six points in the second half while Griechen picked up another 17, which proved vital. Griechen finished as the league’s top scorer by a big margin and was the clear MVP on the night. “Feels great to get the win, I couldn’t have got the MVP without this team, it’s awesome,” he said. Hawks coach and president Kyle Clarkson was quick to heap praise on the young star. “What a game, but I wouldn’t have expected anything less, we have had some epic battles against Occies in the past two seasons with no game being a disappointment,” he said. “I want to give my thanks to big bad Bobby G (MVP Robert Griechen) for raising standards and expectations for what can be achieved.” Clarkson thanked every member of the team who helped rebuild the club after the threat of collapse. “To break a long-time drought of glory at the top means a lot to not only the players on the team but every member of the club past and present,” he said. “I’d like to show thanks to everyone at the club who puts in the hard work to keep the club going. I’m so happy and proud to see the hard work pay off for everyone. “Thank you all for sticking with me and helping rebuild the club, I am forever grateful and hope our Hawks fans remember your names when we finally get put up there on that board.”