Gold Coast centre Greg Vanderjagt came up just short with a three point attempt in the final seconds after the Hawks let a big lead evaporate in the final quarter.

The Hawks seemed to have the game under control, leading by as many as 18 in the fourth term but shot just six of 21 in the final quarter.

The loss leaves the Joyce-led Blaze winless from their first eight games and seemingly already out of the play-off picture.

Joyce coached the Hawks for 12 years, leading them to two finals series and winning a championship in 2001 before being sacked in December 2006.

He returned to Wollongong as an opposition coach in November last year, notching a blow-out 115-82 win - but last night it was payback time.

Wollongong have now won three of their past four games - and three in a row at home - to improve to a 4-4 win-loss record.

Kavossy Franklin was again spectacular, scoring 26 points and dishing out nine assists, and fellow Amercian Dusty Rychart was unstoppable with 21 points and 13 rebounds.

Vanderjagt was strong for the Blaze with 23 points and 12 rebounds and veteran Shane Heal had 20 points and eight assists.

The Hawks started the game on fire, with an 8-2 run, but defence didn't seem a priority for either side in the first quarter and the home side led 30-28 at the first break, with Franklin scoring 11.

The biggest problem for Wollongong in the first half was keeping Gold Coast's enormous front line off the offensive boards.

Gold Coast's streaky outside shooters were ice-cold, hitting on just six of 20 three-pointers, but 16 second-chance points kept the visitors in the game.

The Hawks closed out the half with a 9-3 run to lead 57-50 at the break, with Cameron Tragardh leading all scorers with 14 points on five of seven shooting.

The Hawks then seemingly blew the game open with a stunning third-quarter burst, opening up with a 10-1 run, eight of which were scored by mobile big man Rychart.

Leading by as much as 21 in the third, Gold Coast closed to within 12 but a Franklin three-point play with less than a second to go in the quarter provided momentum and a 83-68 lead at the final break.

The visitors closed to within seven points with less than four minutes left to set up the dramatic finish and could have won the game with Vanderjagt's shot from the corner.