Fighting to keep their season alive, the Waverley Falcons Championship Men rose to the challenge early, however a difficult third quarter put them in a hole they couldn't quite find their way out of.

In front of a capacity crowd at the Falcons Nest, the action was hot early with shots going down at both ends and plenty of physical play in the paint. The Falcons had the better of much of the first half and when they took a hard earned four point lead into the main break, things looked on the up and up.

That all changed in the third quarter however when big Matt Hodgson picked up his fourth foul. The Falcons went small-ball with back-up big Tom Boyle suffering a lower leg injury, and while they initial surged, the Hawks began to chip away with a strong inside presence and some hot shooting.

By the end of three the Falcons found themselves nine points behind, needing to find a spark to get them back in the game. It looked like it might happen early in the fourth when they got the lead back to six, however it couldn't be sustained and the Hawks began to pull away.

Adrian Campbell caught fire late to give the Falcons a desperate chance, but the Hawks held on and completed the deal to move on to the Grand Final.

Although the result was not as hoped for the Falcons, the atmosophere on their home court was sensational and the crowd were treated to a great game. The final taste of senior basketball at the Falcons Nest will be this Thursday, August 25, when the Falcons men take on the visiting Eastern Washington University at 7:30pm.