A pulsating fourth-quarter revival propelled the Wollongong Hawks to Saturday night's 76-65 defeat of NBL title hotshots New Zealand at WIN Entertainment Centre.
Written off as wooden spoon favourites when the 2009-10 season tipped off, the Hawks are sitting alone at the top of the ladder with a 3-1 record.
Taking into account their sparkling pre-season form, Wollongong have won nine of their past 11 games.
Full coverage of the Wollongong Hawks The Hawks' chances of securing their third victory of the regular season seemed remote when the Breakers built a 56-49 lead with just over seven minutes to play.
But with American guard Tywain McKee providing the spark, the Hawks swiftly took control with a decisive 21-2 run, much to the delight of the 3696-strong crowd.
The visitors had no answers, with McKee scoring 14 points in the final period to finish with a game-high 23.
"The one thing we spoke about, we really wanted to get (the Breakers) running up and down as much as possible, so come the fourth quarter, we felt we might be able to run over the top," coach Gordie McLeod said.
"It would've been easy for the Breakers, with all their experience, to have gone away with it.
"To get down and come back showed a lot of really good qualities that we should look to build on. It was a great effort by the guys and one we should be proud of," he added.
The Hawks were all over New Zealand in the first quarter, forging ahead by 12 before skipping into the second period with a 20-15 lead.
But missed shots (2/9) and turnovers (five) piled up in the middle quarters.
The Breakers took advantage of the home side's woes, jumping ahead 32-29 at half-time and stretching the margin to six points after three periods.
Just when it seemed the Hawks were destined to lose their grip on top spot, McKee got them going again.
New Zealand were clinging to a 58-57 lead when McKee nailed a clutch three-pointer and was fouled in the process.
His subsequent free throw gave Wollongong a 60-58 lead with 4:39 remaining and the Breakers looked beaten.
The Hawks were outstanding in crunch time, hitting 16/19 free throws and calmly executing their offence to complete the stirring comeback.
While McKee rose to the occasion, Hawks centre Larry Davidson scored seven points and grabbed five rebounds in the final period to finish with 13 and 10 respectively.
Forward Cam Tragardh (19 points, five rebounds) was a major handful for the Breakers. Glen Saville (10 points, eight assists, five rebounds, four steals) put together an excellent all-round performance and captain Mat Campbell (nine points, six rebounds) had a big hand in the victory.
McKee ultimately finished with the upper hand in his highly anticipated showdown with Breakers star CJ Bruton (18 points, three steals), while Paul Henare (13 points) was New Zealand's only other player to reach double figures.
"It came down to shutting them down in the last quarter and our defence was great, our rebounding effort was good, and it was really pleasing we closed the game out from the foul line," McLeod said.
"Our seniors stepped up. Sav had a big game and Matty Campbell played really well and made a couple of clutch buckets.
"The thing that disappointed us a bit is that they out-worked us early and were beating us in the effort areas.
"They're big and physical and it took us a little while to adjust to that, but the guys made some pretty good adjustments at half-time," he said.
"Our bigs did a better job in the second half, attacking their bigs off the dribble and getting to the hole."
The last time the Hawks were leading the league after four rounds was five years ago.
"It's good for the club and it's great for the community. We have to enjoy it while we can but there's always something to work on," McLeod said.
"I think we play with what I would call a Wollongong style and the fans are enjoying that at the moment, but we need them to be here for the long haul, not just when we win a few games," he cautioned.
The Hawks host in-form Townsville (3-2) on Saturday in what is perhaps the match of the round.
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