ANENDRA SINGH | 28th June 2010

DIGGING DEEP: The up-against-it Hawks are all ears as head coach Shawn Dennis lays down the law in the octane-fuelled final quarter of the NBL semifinals in Wellington on Friday night.A staggering 45 shots from the free-throw line has left Shawn Dennis scratching his head after the National Basketball League semifinals.

"You've got to ask were we that dirty or fouling that much more than them," the 0800 Easy LPG Hawks head coach said after their 98-92 defeat against the Wellington Saints in the capital last Friday night.

The hosts scored 36 of those free throws from the charity line while the Hawks managed eight out of 14.

"For the life of me I just couldn't work it out. We were getting absolutely slaughtered and still we almost pulled it off," Dennis told SportToday.

"I don't think the refs [Dallas Pickering, of Auckland, Andy Thackray, of Masterton, and Raewyn Willocks, of Christchurch] were fair and Wellington got away with it, like going over people's backs," he said, confused about how the Saints pushed centre Miles Pearce to the ground and over the base line defensively but still got the ball back.

Throughout the season, Australian Dennis, who is returning home to become assistant coach of champion ANBL side Perth Wildcats, has maintained the officials tend to favour home sides.

Saints coach and former Tall Black skipper Pero Cameron said: "I think they were pretty aggressive and tended to push the issue so you just couldn't stop going to the foul line."

Cameron said the Hawks played with passion and came pretty close to winning but his troops "ground it out" in typical New Zealand fashion where every game and possession were contested.

Nevertheless, Dennis said while it was always disappointing to lose he was proud of his men.

"Not many people gave us a chance [to make the play-offs at the start of the season] but it shows if you can rebound the ball you can win," he said, reflecting on the Hawks' inability to dominate the backboards on Friday night.

"It was a gallant effort and, hey, we made some mistakes but for a team that had injuries at the start of the season and late arrivals we did well to get so close."

Dennis felt the core of young players, such as Chris Daniel, Everard Bartlett and Jarrod Kenny should carry the franchise forward.

"I think the bulk of the players should be kept and we should bring the two imports [Josh Pace and Jon Rogers] back."

With captain David Langrell retiring, he expected Pearce, who lives in Australia, to "move on with his life there".

"If we get some help in rebounding then we'll win the championship for sure," said Dennis, who has backed assistant coach Kirstin Daly and Tall Black player Paul Henare to succeed him.

Daly, a Napier Boys' High School teacher, is believed to be interested in the stint but leave Henare to take the reins on away matches although a revamped NBL next year is expected to make travelling easier over weekends.

Dennis said the legacy of his past seven years at the helm was to leave behind a healthy environment and club.

"Coaches after winning tend to leave teams decimated but this team can stay together because they are good people."

He picks the Saints to etch their name on the silverware this year, considering Pistons players Tony Ralston and Mike Homik are on the injury list. The Pistons beat Nelson Giants 74-62 in their semifinal in Hamilton on Friday night.

He felt any team that could have a game breaker of Saints forward Erron Maxey's prowess coming off the bench would be hard to beat.

"Maxey was definitely the X factor for the Saints. He'll be starting in any other team in the league."

Former title-winning Piston skipper Cameron predictably expects a hammer-and-tongs battle against finals-savvy Waikato with pedigree players such as Thomas Abercrombie, Alex Pledger and Homik who have played together for years.

He said Saints forward Casey Frank was his pack leader off the boards with Maxey, Leon Henry and Nick Horvath supporting. Guards Lindsay Tait and Eric Devendorf called the shots.

"We had great support [on Friday night]. It wasn't a packed house but they were very vocal when it mattered," he said, shrugging off any thoughts of claiming his maiden title as a coach in his rookie season.