Tipped by many observers to finish with the wooden spoon, the Hawks (6-5) climbed into the top four for the first time in more than two years.

"I told the guys before the game that it was a great opportunity to move up to fourth and that there was no sense in hiding from it, so it was really pleasing to see us put it together on the court and get that monkey off our back on the road," Wollongong coach Eric Cooks said.

Backing up from last Wednesday's home win over the Taipans, the Hawks thoroughly deserved Saturday's victory. They were down by 10 at different stages of the first half and headed to the locker room facing a 52-47 deficit.

Taking the initiative after the break, the visitors opened with a 20-5 run and ultimately took a four-point lead into the fourth period.

Centre Cam Tragardh (18 points, six rebounds) and forward Glen Saville (12 points, two blocks) hit clutch shots down the stretch to give the Hawks valuable breathing space, but Cooks endured some anxious moments when Kavossy Franklin and Tragardh each missed two free throws in the final seconds when Wollongong were protecting a two-point lead.

Taipans veteran Martin Cattalini forced up a desperation three-point shot on the full-time siren, which never looked like finding the net and the Hawks had their much-needed road win.

"Everybody scored, everybody contributed, and we had a great second half defensively to hold them to 35 points," Cooks said.

"It's a big win for so many reasons for us. It gives us the (head to head) split on the Taipans, so if we finish tied we go ahead of them, not to mention it puts us in fourth spot, which is as high as we've been.

"We didn't close it out from the foul line the way we should have, but it's a very tough place to play and we got the win we were looking for. Maybe now it gives us some more respect and changes some of the perceptions out there."