Gold Coast Blaze survived a second-half scare to crush Melbourne Tigers 92-78 in their Round 16 NBL at the Gold Coast Convention Centre on Saturday night.
It was Gold Coast veteran Stephen Hoare's 450th NBL game and the Blaze made sure it was a night to celebrate, the win coming against the club he called home for eight seasons.
The Blaze surrendered a dominant 20-point lead early in the third quarter, the Tigers grafting their way back to within six points.
Fittingly, it was Hoare who sealed the win when he sliced his way through heavy traffic to push the lead back to double-digits with less than four minutes left.
The leadership of point guard Adam Gibson (23 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists) was superb, while Mark Worthington (19) and Anthony Petrie (12) also made strong contributions.
New import Myron Allen had barely stepped off the plane before taking to the court, but after a slow start showed some promise with 13 points and eight assists.
Ron Dorsey (24 points, 8-of-11 shooting) was a constant threat for the Tigers, although he found little help in the first half.
In Townsville, Eddie Gill's driving buzzer-beater gave the Townsville Crocodiles a 65-63 home win over the Wollongong Hawks.
The match was a fascinating affair, Wollongong giving the Crocs everything they could handle despite playing the previous night in Cairns and having just nine players suited up.
Gill finished with 11 points, but youngster Todd Blanchfield was the match-winner with 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting and eight rebounds.
For the Hawks, Tim Coenraad (16 points), Oscar Forman (16) and Rhys Martin (11) were outstanding in a hostile environment as Wollongong nearly pulled off a memorable victory.