Aron Baynes leads Aussie Boomers to win over Hawkinson, Pac-12 All-Stars

Josh Hawkinson and his fellow Pac-12 All-Stars are currently touring down under in Australia for a couple exhibition games against the Australian National Team, along with experiencing everything the Oceanic country has to offer.

Early this morning (2:30 a.m.) the All-Stars fell in defeat to the Australia Boomers by a score of 92-83. Former Cougar and current Detroit Piston Aron Baynes scored 28 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Aussies in the win. Arizona’s Kadeem Allen lead the way for the Pac-12 team, scoring 15 points.

Here’s an excerpt from The Roar, an Australian sports opinion publication:

“Josh Hawkinson was one of the All-Stars best, as he was strong in the paint and the only one really able to stand up to Baynes, while he defended well.”

The nine-point victory was unconvincing for Aussies who are using these exhibitions as tune-ups before leaving for Rio to compete in the 2016 Summer Olympics. With Andrew Bogut out due to his injury sustained in the NBA Finals and youngesters like Dante Exum and Ben Simmons opting to play in the Summer League, Australia will rely on Baynes, Patty Mills, and Matthew Dellavedova next month in Brazil. Former Cougar Brock Motum is also a member of the Australian National Team.

It seems like Hawkinson and the rest of his Pac-12 peers are enjoying their time in Australia before returning back to their respective schools to prepare for the upcoming season. Hawkinson and Motum waved the flag before the game this morning and earlier in the week a trip to the Melbourne Zoo lead to an unexpected scare.