The Wollongong Hawks have kept their ANBL basketball playoff hopes alive with a crucial 104-81 victory over the New Zealand Breakers in Wollongong on Sunday night.
The Hawks led at every break during a polished performance against the league-leading Breakers, who have now lost their last two games after setting an ANBL record 8-match winning streak.
Gary Ervin continually found fast-break opportunities on his way to 25 points, while Oscar Forman had a huge performance with 22 points from 10-of-14 shooting.
Kirk Penney led the Breakers with 25 points and Gary Wilkinson added 16, but a lowly 39 percent shooting clip kept the visitors bogged down for much of the night.
The win keeps the Hawks in equal fifth place with the Gold Coast Blaze, with both teams now breathing down the necks of the Carins Taipans in fourth.
The first placed Nerw Zealanders remain top of the table but won't want to drop any more games with the title contenders beginning to peg the high flying Breakers back.
Both teams now host the second-place Townsville Crocodiles in their next hit out, with the Breakers (18-5) first on Thursday, before Hawks (11-12) on Saturday.
