A vintage shooting display by captain Mat Campbell sparked the Wollongong Hawks to last night's 84-63 drubbing of Hartford University at the Snakepit.
Campbell erupted for a game-high 24 points, knocking down a sizzling 8/12 field goals (4/6 three-pointers) and grabbing seven rebounds.
Also starring for the Hawks were Glen Saville (11 points) and Larry Davidson (11 points, two blocks, two steals).
Full coverage of the Hawks Wollongong's extensive pre-season shooting drills paid handsome dividends, with the home side raining down three-pointers all night (13/22).
Hartford also frequently let fly from three-point territory (8/30), but couldn't match the Hawks' superior inside game.
With coach Gordie McLeod still recovering from blood clots on his lungs, assistant coaches Eric Cooks and Matt Flinn guided the Hawks.
McLeod has made steady progress since being admitted to hospital eight days ago and is hopeful of being cleared to go home today or tomorrow.
Earlier the Hawks signed ex-Gold Coast guard Tyson Demos as their 11th player.
Demos was solid in his Wollongong debut, particularly at the defensive end, where he will come in handy as a designated stopper.
Red-hot shooting helped the Hawks to a 30-18 quarter-time lead, with Saville and Campbell combining for 15 points.
Davidson nailed a couple of three-point daggers, as did newcomer Oscar Forman (eight points, eight rebounds).
Former Illawarra junior Demos was keen to make a strong impression after earning a starting berth, hustling his way to three offensive rebounds against taller opposition. He finished with seven points and eight rebounds.
Wollongong stretched the lead to 15 early in the second period and were still up by 13 with five minutes left in the half, despite the scoring pace slowing considerably.
The Americans gradually ate into the deficit and had their team-mates on the bench hollering for more when the lead shrunk to seven.
But the Hawks regained the momentum and took the margin out to 45-32 at half-time.
Hartford did their best to stay with their opponents, pulling to within seven early in the third quarter.
Wollongong responded, with Campbell knocking down shots everywhere to give his side a commanding 66-44 lead after three periods.
The Hawks will add American guard Gary Ervin to the mix next Friday and have him on court for their September 3 trial against the Sydney Kings at the Snakepit.
"We worked hard as a club and looked at a number of players before going with Gary," McLeod said on Thursday.
"He has the skill package we're looking for and we made as many checks as we could to try and get a feel for him as a person and a player.
"The real test is when ... we see how he complements the rest of the group."
¦ Wollongong tip off their Top End Challenge title defence with a first-round game against the Cairns Taipans.
The Hawks will then square off with the New Zealand Breakers the following day in a rematch of last year's Challenge grand final teams.
Sydney make their official comeback against Gold Coast in round one and are scheduled to play Townsville on day two of the NBL's second annual preseason event in Darwin.
After surprising the doubters to capture the inaugural title in 2009, the Hawks won't have the luxury of sneaking up on rivals at the three-day tournament, which gets under way on September 30.
Games will be fully timed over the regulation 40 minutes, with each team assured of three matches.
Teams will be ranked on results from their first two games, with for-and-against records used to determine seedings for the final day's play-offs.
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