ANENDRA SINGH | 8th March 2010

In basketball, the point guard assumes that mantle of responsibility.

With import Josh Pace not arriving in Hawke's Bay until the end of this month following his American stint and Jarrod Kenny recovering from injury, someone has to fill the sensible shoes of a specialist point guard in the 0800 Easy LPG Hawks basketball team.

"The point guard is like a coach or general on the floor and it's their job to ensure things are glued together on the floor and the troops are going forward," Hawks head coach Shawn Dennis told SportToday yesterday soon after arriving in Napier from Invercargill.

"The point guards go on to become coaches - it's a natural progression," Dennis revealed after combination guards Everard Bartlett and new signing Nat Connell put their hands up to help the Hawks clinch their first victory of the 2010 National Basketball League (NBL) season against the Southland Sharks at Stadium Southland on Saturday night in extra time.

The sides were locked 84-84 in regulation time after the Hawks went to sleep against the new kids on the NBL block, Southland Sharks, this season before the Hawks were stung into action with a 21-6 blitz in the overtime spell.

Almost packed to the rafters with a parochial and boisterous home crowd, the Sharks seemed determined to announce their arrival on a winning note.

"It was the best allround performance I've seen from Everard (pictured) in the Hawks' uniform. It shows all the hard work he put in over summer is paying off," said a jubilant Dennis whose troops succumbed to the Christchurch Cougars in their opening match last Thursday.

"It's always going to be difficult playing the first three games on the road in the first two weeks of the season and Christchurch believe they are going to be good."

The Hawks had six players in double digits, with Bartlett converting nine of his 16 field goal attempts and three out of six three-point ones for a total 23 points.

"What pleased me most about Everard was that he had six rebounds and six assists in that mix," Dennis said.

The Hawks started with a hiss and roar, leaping to a 28-15 lead in the first quarter but the hosts kept their cool, narrowing that margin to seven points at the halftime buzzer and whittling that deficit down to five in the third quarter and claiming the lead midway through the final spell.

When Gareth Dawson fouled Bartlett in the dying seconds, the Hawks lived dangerously as Bartlett and skipper Dave Langrell drew a foul with seconds remaining, missing crucial shots off the free-throw line for victory.

Sharks import Mike Rose showed he was equally on tenterhooks when he missed his clutch shot at the buzzer. Hawks import Jamil Terrell registered 17 points and 12 rebounds, Langrell claimed 14 points and nine rebounds. Chris Daniel and Connell contributed 15 each.

"What it shows," Dennis said, "Paul and Jarrod have left big holes to fill and Josh doesn't come in until the end of the month.

"It's a big learning process for the boys, as well as Chris, to become the new frontline players.

"Nat's also becoming better and better with the combinations."

The Hawks travel through the Manawatu Gorge this Saturday to play against the Jets at 5pm.

"I don't think we're expecting anyone to be more physical than Christchurch," said Dennis after the Jets succumbed 115-81 at home to the Wellington Saints in a feisty affair on Saturday night.

In other games, Taranaki pushed the Nelson Giants to the limit in their 82-84 loss while North Harbour beat Otago 99-82.