American due Tywain McKee and Dave Gruber carried the Wollongong Hawks to last night's thrilling come-from-behind road victory over the New Zealand Breakers.
After trailing for almost the entire game, the Hawks defiantly rallied in the final quarter to prevail 93-91, with unsung forward Gruber (16 points) integral in crunch time and the mercurial McKee (29 points, nine assists, five rebounds) sinking the match-sealing basket with 14 seconds remaining.
Centre Larry Davidson tallied 13 points and seven rebounds, captain Mat Campbell stood tall with 11 points and five rebounds, while bench back-ups Tim Coenraad (nine points, three assists) and Rhys Martin (seven points, five rebounds, three assists) were instrumental in the upset win.
Full coverage of the Wollongong Hawks Breakers guards CJ Bruton (22) and Kirk Penney (23) were typically productive, but Wollongong thoroughly deserved their triumph, out-playing the title favourites with a courageous second-half performance.
The Hawks chalked up their eighth win from 13 games and reclaimed the outright lead on the NBL ladder.
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