The Wollongong Hawks have boosted their playoff chances after outlasting the Gold Coast Blaze 100-88 at the WIN Entertainment Centre on Saturday night.
Tim Coenraad and Mat Campbell spearheaded a phenomenal long-range shooting onslaught, as the duo combined for nine of the team's 11 three-pointers.
Wollongong was 11-of-16 from distance on a 53 percent effort from the field, while the Blaze also impressed with a 13-of-31 three-point clip.
Campbell finished with a game-high 23 points, Coenraad had a career-high 19, while Rhys Martin added 15 points, six assists and six boards.
The Hawks shrugged off Thursday night's disappointing loss to New Zealand to improve their grasp of fourth place on the ladder, also racking up their league-leading 12th home win.
Gold Coast was ultimately unravelled by foul trouble, conceding an additional 12 points from free-throws, while Tyson Demos and Mika Vukona fouled out in the fourth term.
Erron Maxey led the way for the visitors with 21 points, James Harvey and Chris Goulding each chimed in with 14 points.
The Blaze registered the opening five points of the game, but quickly found themselves in a battle after Campbell drained a trio of long-distance bombs to push the Hawks in front 16-12.
Wollongong led 21-19 late in first quarter when it capitalised on a technical foul to Vukona.
After David Gruber and Glen Saville converted three free-throws, Saville made it a five-point possession with a jumper in the lane to help secure a 28-21 advantage at quarter-time.
Both teams maintained a frantic pace from beyond the arc in the second stanza, Adam Gibson and Vukona both struck from deep as part of Gold Coast's four triples.
Coenraad made his presence felt, carrying the home side with three treys, his third dagger opening up a nine-point buffer (52-43).
Gold Coast pulled to within five (49-54) behind Maxey, who collected eight points in the period, but paced by Coenraad's 13 points, Wollongong held on to a 59-51 lead at half-time.
Both teams suffered a slow start in the third, with just six points produced in the opening four minutes.
Maxey and Rhys Martin exchanged threes to kick-start the scoreboard, Maxey quickly connected again from range to keep Gold Coast within striking distance until Campbell heated up.
The veteran guard posted seven quick points to maintain a double-digit buffer, as Wollongong closed the third up 78-67.
The Blaze (15-11) now head to New Zealand to take on the Breakers on Thursday, while the Hawks (14-12) host the Melbourne Tigers on Friday.
Wollongong Hawks 100 (Campbell 23, Coenraad 19, Martin 15)
Gold Coast Blaze 88 (Maxey 21, Gibson 14, Goulding 14)
@ WIN Entertainment Centre, 06/02/2010. Crowd: 3620.